Hobotnica ispod Peke
Octopus and potatoes cooked slowly under the peka, a bell-shaped lid traditionally buried in hot embers, until everything turns tender and smoky.
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 1 h 30 min
- total
- 1 h 50 min
- serves
- 4
- level
- medium
Peka is the Dalmatian way of cooking almost anything: sealed under a heavy bell-shaped lid and buried in embers for hours, so everything steams in its own juices and oil without anyone needing to watch it.
This is the seafood version, octopus and potatoes cooked low and slow under the same method used for the inland lamb version, just with a shorter cook and no paprika.
Part of our 20 best Croatian recipes list.
method
For the home oven version, combine everything in a heavy dutch oven: octopus, potatoes, onion, garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, wine, rosemary, bay, salt and pepper.
Cover tightly and cook at 180°C (350°F) for about 1.5 hours, until the octopus is tender and the potatoes are cooked through. Do not stir partway, let it cook undisturbed.
Uncover for the last 15 minutes and raise the heat to 220°C (430°F) to let the top brown slightly and the liquid reduce.
Rest for 10 minutes, then serve straight from the pot with the juices spooned over.
chef's tips
- Peka is both the name of the bell-shaped lid and the dish cooked under it, traditionally buried in hot coals on the Dalmatian coast for hours.
- A heavy dutch oven in a regular oven is the honest home version: nothing stirred, nothing added mid-cook, everything steaming in its own juices and oil.
- If your octopus is fresh rather than previously frozen, a quick freeze and thaw first helps break down the muscle fibers for a more tender result.
- This is the seafood cousin of this site's other peka, the lamb version. Same method, shorter time, and no paprika.