Recipe
Polpo alla campidanese
Octopus from our seas, slow-cooked in tomato, black olives and plenty of parsley: tender inside, flavourful outside. Make it the day before — it only gets better resting.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
- Fresh or thawed octopus 1.2 kg
- Peeled tomatoes 400 g
- Gaeta or taggiasca black olives 120 g
- Garlic 3 spicchi
- Red onion 1
- Dry white wine 100 ml
- Fresh parsley un mazzetto
- Chilli 1
- Extra virgin olive oil and salt q.b.
Method
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Clean the octopus: remove beak and eyes, rinse well. If fresh, beat it with a meat mallet to tenderise the fibres (thawed doesn't need it).
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Cut the octopus into 4-5 cm pieces, hood and tentacles.
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In a wide pot, heat oil with crushed garlic and chilli. Add chopped onion and sweat 5 minutes.
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Add the octopus and brown 3 minutes over high heat, stirring. Deglaze with white wine and let evaporate.
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Add the tomatoes crushed by hand and the pitted olives. Cover and simmer 45-55 minutes on low, until the octopus is fork-tender. Don't add water: the octopus releases its own.
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Uncover for the last 10 minutes to reduce. Check salt (watch the olives).
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Turn off the heat, stir in plenty of chopped parsley and rest at least 20 minutes before serving. Even better the next day, lukewarm.