Octopus With Pumpkin Greens-Pulpo Con Verduras De Calabaza

SERVES AROUND 4-5 PEOPLE

INGREDIENTS

*1kg of Octopus, cleaned,in lime juice and water,skinned and chopped-See link at the bottom of the page to see how to clean this.

1 Onion sliced
2 Crushed cloves of Garlic
1 Tablespoon of Herbes De Provence-A mixture of herbs from the South of France, which uses lavender flowers.

1 and 1/2 teaspoons of: Smoked (sweet) Paprika,Garam Masala(Less),Coriander,Annatto Powder.

Tin of Tomatoes
**Half a packet of Ugu(Dried Pumpkin Greens/One bunch of Pumpkin Greens-See link at bottom.

Oil to sauté
Fish Stock cube(Optional) or simply salt and pepper to taste

Ghost Chilli powder to taste(I put around half a teaspoon, but you can omit this or use milder chillies, like Jalapeños.)

METHOD

Firstly, clean the octopus, stripping away the skin,and scraping away the innards. Rinse the now chopped octopus, in lime juice and water. Set aside, and slice onions and crush garlic.

Put a pan to heat with some oil. Sauté the onions and garlic, until soft then add spices, including annatto. Add the octopus and allow it to begin to steam in its own juices. Add the tomatoes and stock cube if desired. Check seasoning.

Soak the pumpkin leaves for around 10 minutes in hot water, and then when softened,rinse in changes of water, until free of grit. Do this for the fresh greens-without pre-soaking.

Cover and leave to simmer for around 45 minutes to an hour,or until tender. For the fresh greens,add them to the stew about halfway through cooking time.

Serve hot with pasta,rice,boiled yucca or yam or any starch of choice. Disfrutalo!!

**LINKS OF INTEREST (To prepare Octopus and Pumpkin Greens/Leaves)**

Sausage And Pumpkin Leaf Pasta

Octopus And Spinach Rice