Street food in Sicily
Taste of octopus, taste of the sea. Spineless, low in calories and to be cooked in a thousand different ways: octopus is a mollusk much loved for its unmistakable flavor and texture, even more appreciated and in demand. The fresh octopus is very light, almost white, and can arrive on the stalls even alive (just touch a tentacle to see it retract), while as it ages it gradually acquires a darker color, which tends to gray. The octopus * another of its great characteristics * is a mollusk that, with freezing, not only does not lose its flavor, but its texture most of the time improves, because this system helps to make the meat more tender. Let's get to the question of cooking: according to a famous Neapolitan saying "the octopus is cooked in its own water", and it is really true. Just put the octopus in a saucepan (cooking about 45 min or even more) or in a pressure cooker (20 min) with a little water, and the rest will come by itself. A little trick: to make the tentacles curl, you have to immerse them in boiling water for about thirty seconds, then pull the octopus up (making sure that the tentacles have actually curled), and put it in the pot again, this time completely.
Spaghetti and octopus
Ingredients
350 g spaghetti800 g of small octopus (about 50 g each)600 g tomato puree 1 clove of garlic60 g parsley100 g white wine40 g of Italian extra virgin olive oilsaltblack pepper
Procedure
Rub the octopuses with fine salt and a little water in order to remove the external viscosity, rinse them well under running water and remove the beak, eyes and all the entrails. Pat dry and set aside. In a saucepan, fry half a clove of garlic with the parsley stalks and add the octopus; Pour in some of the white wine, remove the garlic and parsley stalks and cover with a lid. Continue simmering for about 20 minutes, drizzling with the remaining white wine from time to time. Add the tomato puree, cover again and continue cooking for another 30 minutes, always over low heat. Season with salt and black pepper, turn off the heat and let it rest with the lid ajar for at least 30 minutes: in this way the sauce will absorb all the aromas of the octopus. Dip the spaghetti in plenty of salted water, cook, drain, and add to the sauce in the pan. Finally, season with chopped parsley and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, stir in extra virgin olive oil and serve.
NoteIt is important not to oversalt the pasta cooking water, so that you can adjust the salt in the second phase of cooking in the pan. It's always better to add salt than to get a result that's too flavorful.
Taste of octopus, taste of the sea. Spineless, low in calories and to be cooked in a thousand different ways: octopus is a mollusk much loved for its unmistakable flavor and texture, even more appreciated and in demand. The fresh octopus is very light, almost white, and can arrive on the stalls even alive (just touch a tentacle to see it retract), while as it ages it gradually acquires a darker color, which tends to gray. The octopus * another of its great characteristics * is a mollusk that, with freezing, not only does not lose its flavor, but its texture most of the time improves, because this system helps to make the meat more tender. Let's get to the question of cooking: according to a famous Neapolitan saying "the octopus is cooked in its own water", and it is really true. Just put the octopus in a saucepan (cooking about 45 min or even more) or in a pressure cooker (20 min) with a little water, and the rest will come by itself. A little trick: to make the tentacles curl, you have to immerse them in boiling water for about thirty seconds, then pull the octopus up (making sure that the tentacles have actually curled), and put it in the pot again, this time completely.
Spaghetti and octopus
Ingredients
350 g spaghetti
800 g of small octopus (about 50 g each)
600 g tomato puree
1 clove of garlic
60 g parsley
100 g white wine
40 g of Italian extra virgin olive oil
salt
black pepper
Procedure
Rub the octopuses with fine salt and a little water in order to remove the external viscosity, rinse them well under running water and remove the beak, eyes and all the entrails. Pat dry and set aside. In a saucepan, fry half a clove of garlic with the parsley stalks and add the octopus; Pour in some of the white wine, remove the garlic and parsley stalks and cover with a lid. Continue simmering for about 20 minutes, drizzling with the remaining white wine from time to time. Add the tomato puree, cover again and continue cooking for another 30 minutes, always over low heat. Season with salt and black pepper, turn off the heat and let it rest with the lid ajar for at least 30 minutes: in this way the sauce will absorb all the aromas of the octopus. Dip the spaghetti in plenty of salted water, cook, drain, and add to the sauce in the pan. Finally, season with chopped parsley and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, stir in extra virgin olive oil and serve.
Note
It is important not to oversalt the pasta cooking water, so that you can adjust the salt in the second phase of cooking in the pan. It's always better to add salt than to get a result that's too flavorful.
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