spaghetti in pesto di carciofi con polpo


spaghetti with artichoke pesto and octopus
This is almost completely a ‘store cupboard’ dish, because I’ve used pre-prapared preserved artichokes in oil and octopus in oil (‘insalata di mare’, ‘seafood salad’ or similar), which you can pick up easily enough in many Italian delicatessens. Even my local Budgens in London (Jay’s in Crofton Park) has started stocking octopus in oil, and that’s what I used in this dish.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO
(scroll down for the full method)
prepare the igredients
drain the octopus
make the pesto
boil the pasta
combine pesto and pasta
add octopus, plate

spaghetti with artichoke pesto and octopus
INGREDIENTS
FOR FOUR PEOPLE
2 tblspns black olives
400g (14oz) Insalata di Mare (octopus in oil, jar)
PESTO
approx. 180g (6oz) artichokes in oil/water
60g (2oz) grated pecorino/parmesan
40g (1.5oz) pinoli
20g (0.7oz)pistacchio kernals to blend, 20g to garnish
1/3 clove garlic
EVO
PASTA
400g (14oz) dry spaghetti
/ linguine / tagliatelle
MANTECATURA (?)
none, simply combine using pasta water

METHOD
Drain the octopus and cut into bite-size pieces if necessary. Allow as much of the oil from the jar to drain away as possible. For the pesto, use jarred artichokes either in oil or water (I used half of each kind) and pulse blend them with about half the total quantities of pinoli, garlic and cheese.
Hold about a quarter of the artichokes in oil back for garnish. Add salt and pepper to taste and then add more of the other ingredients, a little at a time as you blend, until you get the mix of flavours you like. I like to throw in some whole pistacchios and some loosely broken up artichokes right at the end of the blending, so they remain more whole and give the pesto more variety of texture.

Follow the tips for Cooking with Pesto in the Technique Section and combine the pesto with the pasta and octopus. Serve immediately with lots of black pepper and fresh parsley.
NUTRITION per serving
KCAL: we're working on it!
Fat (g): TBC
Sat Fat (g): TBC
Carb (g): TBC
Sug (g): TBC
Fibre(g): TBC
Prot (g): TBC
Salt (g): TBC
