Seafood Recipe: Braised octopus Puttanesca
I love the versatility of octopus, whether it’s pickled as part of a seafood salad, slow cooked in olive oil and chargrilled, or cooked as a stew.
The octopus is a fascinating creature, having a total of nine brains in their bodies, one ‘mini-brain’ in each tentacle that independently controls the taste, touch, and movement for that tentacle, plus a central brain that allows each of them to work in unison when required. They’ve also been known to be able to solve puzzles and find their way through mazes, making them one of the more intelligent creatures in the sea. More importantly, however, they are delicious.
Octopus is always welcome on my menus. It’s a wonderful winter seafood option, it’s relatively inexpensive and suits the low and slow braises that make for truly comforting food during the cold months.
There are several varieties of octopus you can buy, from the large ‘hands’ to the mid-sized whole octopus, down to the tiny baby octopus. For this recipe, I prefer the medium sized whole ones, as the price point is a little lower and I like the contrast in texture and appearance of the hoods and tentacles.
Puttanesca is a traditional Neapolitan sauce originating in Naples, containing tomatoes, anchovy, capers and olives. It is most commonly found paired with spaghetti, but we decided to take those flavours and apply it to octopus to take advantage of its versatility.
This recipe is very simple. It can be made days in advance, needing just a quick reheat for a fast dinner. In fact, I would recommend making this a day or two in advance, as it only gets better after sitting a day or two in the fridge.
We serve this dish in Molo, our Italian wine bar, on a slice of grilled focaccia with some saffron aioli, but it would be equally at home on a bed of polenta or mashed potato as a more substantial main course.
Ingredients:
- 1kg baby octopus
- 1 large white onion, diced
- 1 red capsicum, diced
- 8 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tbsp crushed chilli flakes
- 6 fillets anchovy
- 1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
- 200ml olive oil
- 600ml white wine
- 1kg canned San Marzano tomatoes
- Brown sugar, as needed
- 100g baby capers
- 100g pitted black olives, halved
- ¼ bunch parsley, leaves picked and chopped
- Good quality extra virgin olive oil, to finish
- Lemon wedges, to serve
Cooking Method
In a large pan add 100ml olive oil, bring to a high heat and sear the octopus to get a little colour and caramelisation. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Bring the pan back onto the heat and add the remaining olive oil. Add your onions, garlic, anchovy, capsicum and chilli, then cook with salt and some cracked black pepper for 4-5 minutes until softened and the onions are translucent. Add the tomato paste and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
Add white wine and reduce by half. Then add the canned tomatoes and bring to a light simmer. Maintain a gentle simmer for 45-60 minutes until the octopus is tender – without being too soft (part of the pleasure is in a slightly firm texture for me) – and the sauce is rich and dark. Adjust the seasoning, adding some brown sugar if necessary to balance the acidity from the tomatoes. Stir through the capers and black olives. Season to taste.
If making in advance, allow to cool slightly before refrigerating in an airtight container. To reheat simply add to a saucepan and bring to a simmer for 5-6 minutes, or until the octopus is heated through. Finish with a generous splash of olive oil, some chopped parsley, and some extra chilli flakes if desired.