Sope, a popular Mexican dish, served at home and in restaurants is sometimes called Picadita.
You start with a thick corn tortilla with edges pinched up and than add your choice of toppings.
Octopus is the main ingredient for this Octopus Sopes recipe from Sunny Days, Taco Nights by chef Enrique Olvera (published by Phaidon Press, June 2025) with photography by Araceli Paz.
Consider it as an addition to your party staples this summer.
Almost 10 years ago (October 2015), I shared 2 recipes from Enrique Olvera ‘Mexico from the Inside Out’ (also Phaidon Press).
OCTOPUS SOPES:
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Makes: 4
INGREDIENTS
For the octopus:
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 white onion, cut into large cubes
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 leek, well cleaned, white and light green parts only, sliced into rings
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 lb 4 oz/1 kg octopus tentacles
For the bean puree:
• 9 oz/250 g white beans
• 4 cloves garlic
• Juice of 2 lemons, plus extra to season
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon habanero oil
• 1 tablespoon garlic oil
• Salt
For the Kalamata olive pico de gallo:
• 10 Kalamata olives, finely chopped
• 1 tomato, seeded and finely chopped
• ½ white onion, finely chopped
• 5 cilantro (coriander) stems, finely chopped
• Lemon juice
• Salt
To serve:
• 4 sopes (use the Corn Tortillas recipe, page 200, but make them ½ inch/1 cm thicker, and pinch the edges to contain the filling)
• 4 tablespoons Bean Puree
• 4 tablespoons Kalamata olive pico de gallo
• Cilantro leaves
• 4 lemon wedges
DIRECTIONS
For the octopus:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add all the remaining ingredients except the octopus. Add water to fill the pan three-quarters full. Bring to a boil, add the octopus, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, then turn off the heat, cover, and let stand for 20 minutes.
Drain the octopus, discarding the cooking liquid. Slice the tentacles 2 inches/5 cm thick.
For the bean puree:
Put all the ingredients except the salt into a blender, along with 8 ½ cups (68 fl oz/2 liters) of water, and blend into a smooth paste. Season with salt and adjust the acidity with lemon juice, if needed.
For the Kalamata olive pico de gallo:
In a deep bowl, toss together the olives, tomatoes, onion, and cilantro (coriander) to the mix. Season with lemon juice and salt.
To serve:
Heat a skillet over high heat for 5 minutes. Add the sopes, flipping them continuously for 2-3 minutes or until warmed through. Transfer to a plate and spread 1 tablespoon of bean puree on each sope. Sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon of pico de gallo. Top with the octopus tentacles, create a spiral shape starting at the center. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve with lemon wedges on the side.
(Extracted from SUNNY DAYS, TACO NIGHTS © 2025 by Enrique Olvera. Photography © 2025 by Araceli Paz. Reproduced by permission of Phaidon. All rights reserved.)
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