Mexican · Dinner
Seared Octopus Tacos with Guajillo Sauce
Tacos de Pulpo Enamorado
Pacific-coast tacos of octopus simmered tender then seared in a sauce of guajillo, ancho, garlic, and orange, piled on warm corn tortillas with avocado, white onion, cilantro, and lime.
$$
10 minsPrep
45 minsCook
55 minsTotal
HardLevel
Nutrition per serving
420Calories
38gProtein
16gFat
28gCarbs
4gSugar
4gFiber
680mgSodium
80mgChol
Goes well with
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local
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international
Instructions
1
Prep
Halve white onion. Stem and seed guajillo and ancho chiles. Peel garlic cloves. Slice cooled octopus into 2cm pieces. Finely dice white onion for plating. Slice avocado. Chop cilantro. Cut lime into wedges. Measure all spices and liquids.
2
Simmer
Place octopus in heavy saucepan with halved onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt. Cover with water by 4cm, bring to boil over high heat. Reduce to medium-low, simmer covered 30-35 minutes until fork-tender and paring knife slides easily into thickest tentacle part. Drain and cool 5 minutes.
3
Toast
Toast chiles in dry pan over medium heat 30 seconds per side until pliable and aromatic. Cover with hot water and soak 6 minutes until softened. Drain chiles and blend with orange juice, lime juice, garlic, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, salt, and 120ml soaking liquid until smooth and spoon-coating thick.
4
Sear
Heat oil in heavy skillet over medium-high heat 1 minute. Add octopus pieces in single layer, working in batches if needed, and sear 2 minutes per side until edges char and surface is glossy. Pour sauce into pan and toss to coat octopus completely.
5
Glaze
Cook sauced octopus over medium-high heat 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens to a glaze that clings to every piece. While octopus glazes, char corn tortillas directly over gas flame or in dry skillet over medium-high heat 20 seconds per side until dark spots appear and tortillas become pliable.
6
Plate
Divide saucy octopus between warm tortillas. Top with sliced avocado, diced onion, and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges on the side.
Recipes use AI and Edamam. Always check for allergens before cooking. Spotted something wrong—email us at hello@grubplanit.com.
Serves
2 portions ·
2 adults, 0 over 10, 0 under 10
Ingredients
- 440g (15.5 oz) octopus, raw, cleaned
- 1 white onion
- 4 bay leaves
- 2 tsp black peppercorns
- 2 tsp fine salt
- 4 guajillo chiles, dried
- 2 ancho chiles, dried
- 120ml (1/2 cup) fresh orange juice
- 60ml (1/4 cup) fresh lime juice
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 0.5 tsp ground cumin
- 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 tbsp neutral oil
- 4 corn tortillas, small 6 inch
- 120g (4.2 oz) avocado
- 60g (2.1 oz) white onion
- 4 tbsp fresh cilantro
- 1 lime