Shattoo Water is a traditional Dominican (from the Island of Dominica) recipe for a classic stew of octopus with tannia and white sweet potato in a lightly-curried coconut milk base with dumplings. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Dominican version of: Shattoo Water.
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Also known as Chatou water where shattoo/chatou refers to the octopus that's the main part of the dish this is a classic Dominican soup of octopus and mixed carbohydrate staples in a coconut milk base served, in this case, with dumplings (though that's not always the case). This recipe is based on a traditional family recipe that I've altered slightly to make it more 'chefy'. The main difference being replacing the packet chicken/tomato soup that formed a basis for the dish with fresher ingredients. I'm using traditional tannia/white sweet potato as the carbohydrate staples to be authentic but you could use potatoes or taro (or a mix).
Ingredients:
For cleaning the octopus:
120ml white vinegar
1 lime
For the soup:
500g shattoo/chatou/octopus
1 large onion
6 small seasoning (pimento) peppers
80g celery, chopped
10g chives, chopped
6 garlic cloves, grated
oil for frying
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
200g tannia, peeled and chopped
200g white sweet potato, peeled and chopped
100g coconut milk powder
200ml coconut milk
2 tbsp tomato purée
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely minced
1 tbsp colombo curry powder
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 tbsp lime juice
For the dumplings:
360g plain flour
1 tsp salt
250ml water
Method:
First you will need to prepare the octopus (if this hasn't already been done for you). Cut the body from the tentacles Turn the head inside out and remove everything inside, detaching the entrails with a sharp knife if necessary, then rinse thoroughly. Next cut the beak from tentacles and remove the eyes.
Section the tentacles and wash all parts thoroughly first in the white vinegar and then by rubbing all over with the lime halves. Now you need to tenderize the octopus. If desired you can first bash all the octopus parts with a meat mallet. Place in a pressure cooker with a little water, bring to pressure and cook for 30 minutes.
Judge the tenderness of the octopus by pushing a knife into one of the tentacles; if it easily pushes into the thickest part of the flesh, it's cooked. Drain the octopus, allow to cool then slice into small pieces then mix in a bowl with the turmeric, cumin, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, rosemary and curry powder. Toss to coat the octopus pieces in the spices then set aside.
In the meantime, prepare the dumplings. Sift together the flour and salt into a bowl then form a well in the centre, add 250ml (1 cup) o water and bring the ingredients together as a dough. Knead the dough until it is solid and firm. If necessary add water or flour so that the mixture is of the right consistency. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and set aside.
Cut the coconut milk powder into pieces then whisk in a bowl with the coconut milk and 250ml water. Whisk until smooth then pour into a large pan and bring to a simmer. In the meantime, heat a little oil in a pan over medium heat. When hot add the onion, seasoning peppers and celery. Stir to combine in the oil then reduce the heat, cover and sweat down slowly for about 8 minutes until very soft. Stir in the garlic and chives and cook for 3-4 minutes more.
Mix the sweated vegetables into the simmering coconut milk then add the octopus pieces and the root vegetables. Top up the liquid with water if needed, brig to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
Crumble in the chicken bouillon cube and stir in the tomato purée. Return to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
Tear pieces off the dumpling dough, shape into balls the size of two marbles and carefully drop into the stew. Cook for 10 minutes then adjust the seasonings to taste and serve.
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