A morning to learn how to make the tielle

Presentation

Today, I'm learning to make the famous Sète tielle
to bring back the flavours of my vacation with me.

I have often heard about the tielle, this octopus pie and tomato sauce. I like to travel, but above all, I like to taste the culinary specialties! There's no better way to discover a culture, is there?

I go to the Halles de Sète to drink my coffee before starting the cooking workshop. The chef, very friendly, explains the origin of the tielle, its ingredients and how we will cook the octopus.

We start by making the dough, which was often the baker's dough at the time. A little flour, olive oil, yeast and salt, we knead well and here is our dough ready, we will let it rest until we prepare the rest.

The thawed octopuses, ready to boil, in a saucepan. Now we remove the suction cups, the black skin and empty it, everything comes all at once. That's impressive!

It is cut into pieces, so that it can be mixed with tomato sauce, cooked with onion, garlic, olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper and a few black olives if desired.

It smells good, we start to imagine the result...

Now you have to prepare your mould, brush the bottom with olive oil with a brush. The dough is rolled out, rather thin or thick depending on the taste! The octopus mixture with tomato sauce to pour on top, and now we close it all up, and make small cuts with a knife.

We put this delight in the oven, and we are all eager to enjoy it...

A little history:

Imported from Gaeta to Sète by Italian immigrants at the end of the 19th century, this octopus pie allowed farmers and fishermen to have a complete meal that could be kept for a few days. It was not until the 1930s that it was marketed to the general public by a Sète family of Italian origin.
Today, it is an essential specialty of local gastronomy: a delightful taste! With its soft bread dough and generous filling, it is a culinary experience not to be missed.