Azorean Portuguese Octopus Stew Recipe (Polvo Guisado)
Try this amazing traditional Azorean Portuguese Octopus stew recipe (Polvo Guisado) made with red wine, potatoes and seasoned to perfection. Being married to a Portuguese, actually an Azorean, I was first introduced to Octopus stew during the Christmas holidays. My husband’s all time favorite traditional Portuguese dish. I have to admit I’m not an Octopus fan but the way this stew is prepared is absolutely delicious and hits the spot. One of my favorite things about this stew is the potatoes, they are so fricken yummy.
How to Make Azorean Portuguese Octopus Stew (Polvo Guisado)?
This Azorean Portuguese Octopus stew recipe is easy to prepare. Follow our step by step guide and you’ll be enjoying the best seafood octopus stew ever inspired by the Azores Islands in Portugal.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds potatoes diced into cubes
- 2 Octopus ( 2 pounds each)
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 5 tbsp. Olive Oil
- 1 small onion chopped finely
- 11/2 tablespoons pimenta moida ( Sweet or Hot Pimiento Paste)
- I can tomato paste ( 156 ml or 5.5 oz)
- 5 cups red wine
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons parsley chopped finely (optional)
- 2 tablespoons chopped coriander (optional)
- 2 bay leafs
- 1/4 teaspoon black peeper
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
Instructions:
- Rinse the octopus thoroughly and cut into 1 inch pieces and set aside.
- In a large pot, add the olive oil, onions, garlic and saute on medium heat.
- Add in the octopus pieces the tomato paste, pimenta moida, paprika and stir.
- Add in the octopus pieces, black and white pepper, salt, and two cups of wine and stir and bring to a boil.
- Cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium and cook the octopus on for about an hour stirring occasionally.
- After an hour add the remaining 3 cups of wine, bay leafs, coriander, parsley and diced potatoes and cook for about 35-40 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
- Serve with fresh cut bread.
I prepared this over the Christmas holidays and it brought back so many memories. My whole family loved it and it reminded us of how my grandmother used to make it. Thank you Gimmeyummy.
My whole family loved this recipe.
Amazing!
I tried making the octopus last night and omg soooo good!
Thank you so much
Very nice recipe, the real thing. The only thing I did was add a bit more spice to it to give it a bit of a kick.
One of the best seafood dished I’ve ate
Delicious seafood recipe.
One of the best octopus recipes I’ve made.
It doesn’t get better than this, wine, potatoes and octopus
Very yummy recipe.
Just like home. Nice recipe with easy instructions.
One word to say about this recipe…Yummy!!!
My husband is Azorean and I surprised with this recipe. He loved it and compared it to his mom’s recipe.
I can’t believe I finally made this recipe. It tastes so warm and delicious. Love the potatoes and the octopus melt in your mouth. Ta
thank you for sharing this recipe.
Yummy, I love this recipe.
Question. I m about to try this recipe tomorrow. I will be working with 1 octopus only, not two. It weighs 1.6 lbs. should cut the other ingredients accordingly? Let me know! Thanks!
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for stopping by Gimme Yummy!!
I would recommend you scale back on the ingredients by 20%. For the wine use 4 cups instead 5.
Hope this helps.
Take care and stay safe!
Regards,
Gimme Yummy Team
I made this recipe for the 2nd time today, and it’s perfect. Growing up my mother made this dish almost weekly. Getting a recipe from a Portuguese mother is painful, so I’ve spend years trying to find a recipe that would come close to hers and THIS IS IT. It was one of my favorites growing up and my kids love it also. It’s great to be able to feed them like I was fed as a kid.
Thank for you for sharing this recipe. It’s greatly appreciated it.
Hey Nelson,
We’re happy you enjoyed the recipe! My Azorean mother in law deserves all the credit for sharing her recipe that has been in their families for generations.
Cheers,
Marcela
Hey! I’m going to cook this tonight, I was just wondering if there is any specific kind of red wine that works best. Let me know! Thank you.
Hi, Daniel,
Just Red table wine.
Cheers,
Gimme Yummy Team
Which red wine works best? I used Cabernet Sauvignon.
Hello,
Cabernet Sauvignon is a good choice, but you can use any type of regular red table wine.
Cheers,
Marcela