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fettuccine al ragù di polpo

fettuccine in octopus ragù

Octopus makes probably the most delicious fish ragù. My first memories of eating octopus are from family holidays to Italy. As teenagers, my brother and I would catch octopus near my grandmother's house between Recco and Sori, west of Genova, and they'd normally always end up in a pot following my Zia Chiara's recipe. She couldn't stand garlic or onions, so the octopus would always be cooked in its own juices in a terracotta  pot, with just a tiny amount of tomato concentrate. Maybe it was the terracotta, maybe it was the super-fresh octopus, maybe it was the lack of any other flavours, but the flavour was incredible and I've always struggled to get close to it since.


As with all fish, it's really worth tracking down an excellent fishmonger whom you can rely upon for the very best quality ingredients. In the UK, it's still often difficult to find fresh octopus, but this dish really can't be cooked with frozen, so do what I do and keep your eyes peeled for octopus on a fish counter. When you see it, buy it!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO
(scroll down for the full method)

  • prepare the ingredients

  • chop the vegetables

  • begin to fry the soffritto

  • scald the octopus

  • chop the octopus

  • add octopus to soffritto

  • add polpa

  • allow time to pass

  • cook the pasta

  • combine sauce and pasta

fettuccine in octopus ragù

INGREDIENTS

FOR FOUR PEOPLE

  • Approx. 1.5 Kg fresh octopus

  • 1 medium onions

  • 1/2 a small celery stalk

  • 1 large clove garlic

  • a couple of pinches of dry oregano

  • 1 bunch flat leaf parsley

  • a tablespoon of capers

  • 1 fresh cayenne pepper

  • 1-2 glasses red wine

  • 600g tomato polpa


PASTA

400g fettuccine (Waitrose) 


MANTECATURE (?)

none, simply combine

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METHOD

You'll see many 'tricks' in recipes for cooking tender octopus. I usually find that as long as you cook the fish for long enough there's very little chance that you will end up with a nasty rubbery mess. Some cooks prefer to fry the octopus alone in EVO for a good half an hour before adding the other ingredients, but I'm going to give you the alternative 'pre-boiling' method.


Make sure the octopus is properly cleaned - that means the beak should have been removed, along with ANYTHING inside the head. Ask your fishmonger to do this if you are unsure - and get the eyes removed too. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and then, holding the octopus with its tentacles dangling over the water, dunk it very quickly as far as you can without scalding yourself, three times. You're aiming to get the tentacles to curl up in contact with the water. Set the octopus aside for a few minutes to rest while you prepare the vegetables for the soffritto.


Chop the onions and garlic very finely, and also the chilli. Cook the soffritto gently in EVO for 5-10 minutes, also adding the capers and bay leaves. As it's cooking, chop up the octopus. Cut the thicker ends of the tentacles into slices no more than 1 cm thick, then as you make your way down each tentacle you can increase the thickness. Leave the thinnest end of the tentacles as a long thin piece, up to about 8cm or so long. cut the head into small squares about 2cm square.

Add the chopped octopus to the soffritto and let it cook on a medium heat, stirring regularly, for about 10 mins. You'll notice the octopus will begin to lose water and start to create a fantastic smelling liquor. At this point you can add a glass of red wine and allow it to reduce almost completely to how it was before you added the wine. Add the tomato polpa, a handful of torn parsley leaves and then let the sauce simmer. Be prepared to babysit the sauce, stirring regularly and adding water if it starts to dry out. 


There are no hard and fast rules about how long you need to cook the octopus, but ideally you need to get it super tender so that it melts in your mouth.... this might mean upwards of 80-90 mins cooking time, depending on your octopus. Be prepared for a slow cook and make sure the final ragù is really quite reduced and not watery at all. Check the sauce for seasoning and adjust as required. Boil the water for the pasta and cook it.


When the pasta is cooked to your liking (my recommendation would be just past 'al dente'), add one big ladle of ragù per person to a warm pasta wok, and then fish the pasta out of the cooking water. Add the pasta straight into the sauce in the wok and toss to combine. Add more ragù to taste or a tiny amount of cooking water, if need be. Toss and combine on the heat and then plate immediately, with finely chopped parsley and extra cayenne pepper as an optional garnish.

NUTRITION per serving

  • KCAL: 636

  • Fat (g): 9.5

  • Sat Fat (g): 2.0

  • Carb (g): 46.8

  • Sug (g): 7.6

  • Fibre(g): 2.9

  • Prot (g): 77

  • Salt (g): 1.19

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