The stewed baby octopus in jar cooking in the microwave cook in just over 15 minutes and will be very tender. Cooked strictly in jars with thick seals and using two microwave power levels, following my directions, you will have baby octopus cooked with jar cooking in the microwave that will surprise you. Like the recipe for squid with potatoes in jar and octopus in jar, this recipe also uses the jar cooking technique to cook in a short time and can be stored for 15 days. Here you will find the instructions for jar cooking.
For the recipe of stewed baby octopus in a jar, I used 2 large baby octopus, purchased fresh at the fish market and then frozen at home. This way I ensured the quality of these mollusks and freezing helped me make them tender.
Small sized baby octopus can be used to season a nice plate of spaghetti with baby octopus, and at the end of the recipe, you will find instructions on how to cook them. At the end of the recipe, you will find the version with potatoes and many useful links for learning how to cook in a jar in the microwave.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 2-3
- Cooking methods: Microwave, Jar Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 432.76 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 14.31 (g) of which sugars 6.05 (g)
- Proteins 47.74 (g)
- Fat 18.78 (g) of which saturated 2.91 (g)of which unsaturated 1.30 (g)
- Fibers 1.22 (g)
- Sodium 938.53 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 247 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for the Stewed Baby Octopus Recipe
- 28 oz baby octopus (gross weight – net 20 oz)
- 2.8 oz cherry tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste (scant)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 fresh chili pepper
- 2 tbsps dry white wine
- 6 leaves basil
- 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 2 pinches salt
What You Need to Make the Recipe
- 1 Microwave Oven
- 1 Jar 1-liter with thick seal
- 1 Microwave Tray
How to Make Stewed Baby Octopus in Jar Cooking
Clean the baby octopus, removing the innards and mouth, rub them well under running water to remove impurities from the suction cups. Drain them well and pat them dry with paper towels. Peel the garlic clove and chop it along with the chili pepper, transfer the minced mixture to the microwave tray, add the oil and sauté in the microwave for 2 minutes at full power. Alternatively, you can do this step in a pan, direct cooking is faster and easier.
Once cooled, you can store in the refrigerator, the stewed baby octopus in jar cooking will keep for 15 days. When you want to serve them, take the jar out of the refrigerator, unlock it, bring it to room temperature using the microwave defrost function for about 3 minutes and then proceed with opening at your power for about 6 minutes or until it opens. Serve your octopus accompanied by croutons.
Wash and cut the cherry tomatoes in half and distribute them at the bottom of the jar. Add the tomato paste, salt, and basil leaves.
Combine the baby octopus, mix them with the seasoning and, at full power, sauté for 6 minutes. Finally, pour in the wine and continue for another 2 minutes.
Wash and cut the cherry tomatoes in half and distribute them at the bottom of the jar. Add the tomato paste, salt, and basil leaves.Also place the sautéed baby octopus in the jar with all their seasoning. Clean the rim of the jar, close it, and lock it. Shake the jar to mix the seasoning with the octopus and place it in the microwave. Set the microwave to your tested power (I use 600 W) for 8 minutes and start cooking. At the end, reset the microwave to a lower power (I use 440 W) and for another 8 minutes, restart.
At the end of cooking, let the closed jar rest for at least 2 hours. During this time you will see that the jar will continue to boil at low temperature and this will make the stewed baby octopus tender.
Once cooled, you can store in the refrigerator, the stewed baby octopus in jar cooking will keep for 15 days.
When you want to serve them, take the jar out of the refrigerator, unlock it, bring it to room temperature using the microwave defrost function for about 3 minutes and then proceed with opening at your power for about 6 minutes or until it opens. Serve your octopus accompanied by croutons.
Rosella’s Tips…
*Cooking times were calculated with freshly sautéed baby octopus, thus still hot.
* To promote long post-cooking, you can wrap the jar in a wool or fleece cloth.
Stewed baby octopus are also excellent for turning into a spaghetti sauce. Try finishing the spaghetti in the octopus sauce.
Stewed Baby Octopus with Potatoes in a Jar
Once the jar is opened, you can divide the contents into 2 jars (always with thick seals), in which you have placed 3.5 oz of diced potatoes per jar, and cook each jar for 6 minutes. In this case, the octopus will keep for a week in the refrigerator.
Stewed Octopus in Jar Cooking
With the same procedure and cooking time, you can make the recipe for stewed octopus.
