Oven-Roasted Octopus from Sines

The octopus and potatoes are baked in the oven, covered with an onion mixture of pepper, tomato and slices of linguiça. The sauce simmers in the baking dish, coating the ingredients without masking the octopus's flavour.

This recipe was collected in Sines in 2012, in an interview with Catarina Maria Silva. She had learned it from a friend from Grândola who had lived in Sines for many years. In the Alentejo Gastronomic Guide, it is listed as a dish for any time of year.

Serves: 4 people.
Preparation: about 25 minutes.
Estimated total time: 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 1.5 kg raw octopus, cleaned and thawed if bought frozen
• 800 g potatoes, weighed before peeling
• 4 medium onions: 1 for the octopus and 3 for the onion mixture
• 100 ml red wine
• 100 ml white wine
• 100 g Alentejo White Pork Linguiça, sliced
• 100 g red or green pepper, deseeded and cut into strips
• 150 ml plain tomato purée
• 80 ml olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Water for the potatoes and to top up to the minimum liquid level required by the pressure cooker

Step-by-step preparation

1. Prepare the octopus and vegetables.
   If using frozen octopus, thaw it in the fridge in a container to catch the liquid. Make sure it is cleaned, with the innards, eyes and beak removed, and cut it into pieces about 4–5 cm long. Peel the onions; halve one and slice the others into rings. Peel the potatoes and cut them into similarly sized pieces, about 4 cm.
2. Cook the octopus.
   Place the octopus in the pressure cooker with the halved onion and red wine. Add water until it reaches the minimum liquid level specified by the manufacturer; do not rely on water the octopus may release. Also follow the fill limit and the equipment instructions. Start without salt and adjust it later. Cook for about 20–30 minutes from the moment the cooker reaches operating pressure, adjusting the heat as directed in the manual. Let the pressure drop using the method specified by the manufacturer, and never force the cooker open. Test a thick piece with a fork: it should slide in easily. If it is still tough, finish cooking with the cooker open at a gentle simmer until tender. Remove the octopus, drain it and set aside a little of the cooking liquid.
3. Boil the potatoes and preheat the oven.
   While the octopus cooks, put the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold water and add a little salt. Bring to the boil and cook for about 15–20 minutes, until a knife slides in easily but the potatoes do not fall apart. Drain well. Preheat the oven to 190 °C, without the fan.
4. Make the onion sauce.
   Heat the olive oil in a wide frying pan. Add the three sliced onions, pepper, bay leaf and linguiça sausage. Cook over medium-low heat for about 12–15 minutes, stirring, until the onion has softened and starts to brown. Add the tomato pulp and pepper and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the white wine and simmer gently for about 3 minutes. Taste before adding salt, as the linguiça will already season the sauce.
5. Bake until the sauce has come together.
   Arrange the octopus and potatoes in a baking tray about 35 × 25 cm, without crowding them. Spread the onion sauce and liquid over the top. If it is too thick to coat the ingredients, add two or three tablespoons of the octopus cooking liquid, after tasting it. Bake on the middle rack for about 20–25 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the surface has browned a little. Baste once with the sauce during this time. Serve immediately.

Tips for tender octopus

The octopus should be tender when it comes out of the pot: the time in the oven is to bring the sauce together, not to make up for incomplete cooking. Drain the potatoes well so they do not dilute the onion sauce. If the tray starts to dry out, add a little of the reserved cooking liquid rather than leaving it to roast for longer without any liquid.

Wine pairing

Serve Foral de Évora Branco 2023 at 10–12 °C. The body and balanced acidity described in the wine’s tasting notes make it a good choice to accompany the octopus, onion sauce and richness of the linguiça sausage.

Preparing ahead and storing

You can cook the octopus and prepare the onion sauce the day before. Cool them quickly in small containers and store them covered in the fridge; do not leave cooked food at room temperature for more than two hours. Cook the potatoes and assemble the tray close to serving time. If the ingredients are cold, they will take longer in the oven: check that they are piping hot all the way through. Refrigerate any leftovers promptly and reheat only the portion you plan to eat, heating it thoroughly.

Frequently asked questions

The octopus is still tough. Can I put it in the oven now?

No. Continue cooking gently in the uncovered pot until a fork goes easily into a thick piece. In the oven, the surface may dry out before the inside becomes tender.

Why use red wine and white wine?

They are used at different stages in the source recipe: the red wine is used to cook the octopus; the white wine goes into the onion and sausage mixture before it is put in the oven.

Should I pour all the octopus cooking liquid into the tray?

No. Use just a little if the sauce needs liquid. Taste it first: the cooking liquid may be salty, and using too much will make the roast too watery.

Should I use the whole pack of linguiça?

No. This adaptation uses 100 g for four people. From the 250 g pack, cut off only that amount and store the rest according to the product instructions.

More Alentejo flavours

Alentejo White Pork Linguiça adds flavour to the onion and sausage mixture and the tray sauce. For another combination of seafood and cured meats, discover Aljustrel Cuttlefish and White Bean Stew.

Source and adaptations

Roast Octopus Recipe collected in Sines, during an interview with Catarina Maria Silva by Inês Olaio Marques (ADL), in 2012. Published in Carta Gastronómica do Alentejo (2013), page 1090, and adapted by Herdade do Estacal for the blog “À Mesa com o Alentejo”.

The source specifies one onion for cooking the octopus and one bay leaf for the onion and sausage mixture, but does not quantify the remaining ingredients or give cooking times or temperature. The other quantities for four people, the size of the cuts and baking dish, tomato pulp as an option for the tomato sauce, the cooking times, temperature and doneness cues are guidance for this adaptation and have not been kitchen-tested. The octopus is still cooked with onion and red wine, the peeled potatoes are cooked separately, and the onion and sausage mixture is made with linguiça and white wine before baking. In the source recipe, a little salt is added to the octopus; in this adaptation, the salt is adjusted later, after tasting. The liquid in the pot must comply with the manufacturer's instructions.

Illustrative image generated.