I had a taste for African food again in the worst way. I had a package of frozen ocopus in the freezer and I took it down and thawed it out under cold running water. However this and its cousin squid or calamari as it is also called. Don’t worry it is halal because it is also a type of fish.
I added 1/4 cup of olive oil in to a cast iron skillet. In the bowl I have placed the thawed and washed octopus in to a bowl and made sure that all of the excess water was drained from them. I added 1 bullion cube, 3 dashes of knorr or maggi aroma, 1 pinch each of curry powder, red chili powder, basil and thyme. I mixed to combine these ingredients.
I also added 3 garlic cloves crushed and 1 handful of rice flower and mixed thoroughly. I turned on the burner on high heat and let the olive oil get hot and fried in batches of 4 or 5 at a time and fried them for 5 minutes each and constantly turning.
I removed them and placed them in a bowl lined with paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Next thing I know I seen what there happens to be some stuff left over from frying the octopus. I then started to make jollof pasta to go with this dish. Please refer to the link underneath.
Jollof Spaghetti Or Pasta, Bulgur And Rice
This is what I did with the fried octopus after I made the jollof pasta. You can use any type of pasta for this dish.
By following the link above I had added 1 tbs of red palm oil in the same skillet along with the leftover olive oil from frying the octopus. Then I added 1 bullion cube, 3 dashes of maggi or knorr aroma, 1 pinch each of crayfish, curry powder, paprika, white pepper, red chili powder and thyme, 2 bay leaves, and nutmeg I had grated. I added 1 pinch of black pepper corns and ground them with my mortar and pestle then added it to the skillet
Then I put some pasta in to boiling water and cooked it according to package directions. I drained the pasta then made the blended pepper sauce. I added 1/4 cup of water in to the blender, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 habenero or scotch bonnet that has been deseeded, 1 tomato 1 small piece of ginger and 1 red bell pepper with the seeds removed. I blended it and added it to the skillet with 1 tbs of tomato paste and made the jollof sauce to put over the pasta. Add 1 pinch of crayfish.
I drained the pasta after it was done cooking and I put the drained pasta back in to the pot. I picked up the cast iron skillet that had the sauce in it and added it to the pasta. I turned the burner on high and stirred the sauce in to the pasta and then turned the burner off. Then I added the fried octopus in to the jollof pasta. I have to admit that I really enjoy eating it with a bottle of Goya malta light.
This is my malt beverage of choice and relax it is made with splenda.
