Octopus alla luciana

Octopus alla luciana is a typical dish of Neapolitan cuisine: in this recipe the octopus is cooked with San Marzano tomatoes, Gaeta olives and capers. Octopus alla luciana is a traditional Neapolitan preparation: the dish takes its name from the Santa Lucia district of Naples, an ancient village of sailors who are experts in the fishing of octopus. As they say in those parts "O purpo se coce dinto a ll'acqua soja", or "The octopus is cooked in its water" and, in fact, this recipe also calls for cooking the octopus in a saucepan with a lid, over low heat and for an hour and a half. To flavor the octopus, San Marzano tomatoes, Gaeta olives, capers and parsley are used.

Good to know: octopus alla luciana is different from octopus all'ischitana, typical of Ischia, which does not include tomato, is blended with white wine and is slightly spicy.

Ingredients

1 Kg two octopuses

350 g San Marzano tomatoes

garlic

parsley

extra virgin olive oil

Capers

olives

Procedure

For the octopus alla luciana recipe, wash the octopus well under water, then cut the bag, empty it and remove the eyes and the leathery beak in the center. Peel the tomatoes and cut them into cubes. Sauté 2 cloves of garlic in a saucepan with 100 g of oil, after a minute add a large sprig of parsley, tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of capers and 2 tablespoons of olives, octopus and cook them over very low heat, with the lid on, for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Serve the octopus whole in a serving bowl or in the cooking pot, cutting them directly on the table.