Polpo alla Luciana (Neapolitan Tomato-Braised Octopus)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 65 min
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 2 servings
- Ingredients
- 9
About this dish
Not a drop of water goes into this Neapolitan braise; the octopus releases its own liquid, and together with crushed tomatoes it becomes the sauce.
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Black olives and capers handle the briny side, while crushed red pepper adds a low, steady heat. That heat and the garlic are drawn into the oil over low heat at the start, and the tomatoes are added before the garlic browns. Reducing the sauce waits until the octopus is truly tender; if it still resists after the long covered simmer, the lid stays on for longer. Done right, the sauce clings to the octopus with no thin liquid pooling on the plate.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Rinse the cleaned raw octopus under running water, drain it well, and cut it into large 6 cm pieces.
- 2
Crush the garlic cloves with the flat of a knife, chop the parsley, and slice the black olives in half.
- 3
Heat olive oil in a pot, add the crushed garlic and chili flakes, and sauté over low heat until fragrant.
- 4
Crush the canned whole tomatoes by hand into the pot, then add the black olives and capers.
- 5
Once the sauce boils, add the octopus, cover tightly with a lid, and simmer on low heat for 45 minutes.
- 6
Uncover and check whether the octopus is tender.
If it is still tough, cook it a little longer. Once tender, simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce thickens and season with salt.
- 7
Sprinkle the chopped parsley and drizzle a small amount of fresh olive oil to serve.
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