| Level: | Advanced |
| Total: | 2 hr 45 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 2 hr 30 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 Garlic Cloves
- 12 small onions
- 2 cleaned octopus, about 1 1/2 pounds each
- 1 cup Taggascia olives
- Peperonciono
- 2 Bay Leaves
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
Instructions
- Set the saucepan over low heat. Pour in 6 tablespoons of the olive oil. Scatter the onion in the bottom of the pan and add the garlic. Nestle the octopus on top of the onions. Scatter the olives over the octopus. Cover and let the octopus stew in its own juices for 1 hour.
- Uncover the octopus, there should be a lot of liquid from the octopus in the pan. Cover and continue to stew over low heat until the octopus is very tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes more, depending on the size of the octopus. To test for doneness, stick a fork in the thickest part of the octopus, it is done if the fork slides out easily.
- Remove the octopus from the pot and let cool slightly. Cut the octopus into 3/4-inch chunks, skin and all. Put the octopus chunks in the skillet and pour in the contents of the saucepan as well. Taste the sauce for salt (the octopus can be very salty) and add the salt, if needed. Get the sauce simmering rapidly over medium heat and stir in the parsley. You should have 2 cups or so of braising juices in the skillet. If there’s much more than that, boil to reduce the sauce
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 432 |
| Total Fat | 23 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 21 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 6 g |
| Protein | 36 g |
| Cholesterol | 109 mg |
| Sodium | 957 mg |
Reviews
so incredibly delicious and SO easy to cook. YOU MUST MAKE THIS.
Don’t be put off by the directions…I made this with 3 medium octopus, 10 medium onions, a can of black olives and 2 bay leaves (no idea what Peperonciono was so didn’t have any in the cupboard!). You’ll be amazed, it is totally delicious…I was sceptical about the amount of juice that comes out of the octopus, just leave it on a low heat and see (lowest setting on largest gas hob, in 4-5 litre saucepan). I served it with some flat bread to mop up the sauce.
We will make this again the next time we see octopus for sale. I have photos but there’s no way to upload.
Delicious, must try very easy recipe.
PHENOMENAL! While visiting my sister in Italy we bought a frozen octopus to make for dinner. We came upon this recipe – it was by far one of the easiest we found (as we really had no idea what to do with a frozen octopus, but wanted to try it!). We were a little skeptical at first, but the dish turned out so well I decided to make it for my family on Christmas Eve. We made the octopus according to the recipe, then put it over spaghetti. I’m hooked!!
Just recently I had a braised octopus salad over dandelion greens down in the city. Totally delicious. As mentioned in the article I will be linking you to, it was under $10 and was a more than healthy portion. Your recipe sounds delicious. Now I just have to try it out 🙂
http://glenwoodnyc.com/roller/blog/entry/the_frankies_spuntino_457_on