Spaghetti with octopus
by:
When we make any seafood pasta, we tend to leave it in its sauce a little longer before serving. This is because these "split" seafood sauces won't naturally cling to the pasta as thicker sauces will so you need to give the pasta more time in the sauce, to allow it to release its starch and thicken it, and also for the pasta to absorb a little more of the delicate flavors.
ingredients
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serves: 4
1 octopus (cleaned)
1 large chile (split in half, plus l more, optional, to taste)
large handful of parsley (with stalks, plus 2 tablespoons chopped parsley)
3 whole garlic cloves
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus a little more for finishing)
2 tablespoons tomato passata (or 2 crushed tomatoes)
14 ounces spaghetti
salt and pepper
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Amount per Serving
Calories: 593
- Total Fat: 22.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 15 mg
- Sodium: 153.2 mg
- Total Carbs: 79 g
- Dietary Fiber: 4.2 g
- Sugars: 4.4 g
- Protein: 18.8 g
preparation
1. If the octopus is fresh, heat it with a meat hammer to tenderize, and rinse very well under cold running water, to remove excess saltiness.
2. Put the chile, the handful of parsley and stalks, the garlic and half the olive oil into a large casserole. Add the octopus (don't season it, as it will he salty enough), cover with a lid and let it simmer for about 1 hour — but stir every 5 minutes.
3. Remove the octopus from the pan, reserving the cooking liquid, and cut it into little pieces. Put the octopus pieces back into the cooking liquid and let it cool down. Once cool, you can store it in the fridge if you don't want to make the dish immediately.
4. Heat the rest of the oil in a large sauté pan, add the passata or the tomatoes and extra chile, if using, with the octopus and a little of the cooking liquid (taste it first and, if it is too salty, use plain water). Let the octopus heat through, taste and season only if you need to.
5. Cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water for about a minute less than the time suggested on the package. Drain, reserving some of the cooking water. Add the spaghetti to the pan containing the octopus. Toss through in the pan for BO seconds or so, adding a little of the cooking water, if necessary, to thicken the sauce. Add the rest of the parsley, toss through quickly and serve, drizzled with some more of the olive oil.
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comments
Allicia
January 11, 2011
Great seafood dish! I had to use squid (frozen calimari) since I don`t have a aupplier for octopus. I did everything by the recipie, except I didn`t add the squid till I did the shrimp. I cooked the shrimp and squid at the same time since they both take only a couple of minutes. A big salad and loaf of crusty bread nade the neal complete. Just like being in Campagna.