Seafood pasta-style main course
A Southern Italian seafood dish where tender octopus is slowly braised with cherry tomatoes, olives, capers, garlic, and parsley, then folded into toasted Sardinian fregola for a rich, briny, tomato-kissed finish.
Recipe video
Rinse the octopus under cold water and pat it dry. Check that the beak and eyes have been removed.
Warm 30 ml / 2 tbsp olive oil in a heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes; cook for 1 minute without browning.
Add cherry tomatoes, passata, olives, capers, half the parsley, and a small pinch of salt. Cook for 6 minutes, until juicy.
Nestle in the octopus, pour in the white wine, cover, and simmer gently over low heat for 55–70 minutes, turning once, until tender.
Lift out the octopus. Strain and reserve the sauce; keep it warm. Cut the octopus into bite-size pieces.
In a wide pan, toast the dry fregola over medium heat for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until nutty and lightly golden.
Add a ladle of hot stock and stir. Continue adding stock gradually, as for risotto, for 12–14 minutes.
When the fregola is almost tender, add the reserved Luciana-style tomato sauce and simmer for 3–4 minutes.
Fold in the octopus pieces and cook gently for 2 minutes, just to warm them through.
Remove from the heat. Rest for 2 minutes so the fregola absorbs the sauce.
Finish with parsley, lemon zest, black pepper, and the remaining 15 ml / 1 tbsp olive oil.
Taste before adding more salt, because olives, capers, and octopus are naturally savory.
Serve warm in shallow bowls with extra parsley.
Spoon a little glossy sauce over each bowl before serving.
