Antonino Cannavacciuolo's Recipe: Spaghetti with Octopus. The ultimate summer pasta according to the three-starred chef of Villa Crespi, who guides us step by step in creating a sauce straight out of a cookbook.

Ingredients for 4 people

For the octopus

800 g of small octopuses (about 50 g each)
600 g of tomato passata (or crushed and strained peeled tomatoes)
1 clove of garlic
60 g of parsley
100 g of white wine
Black pepper
Salt

Method

Rub the octopuses with fine salt and a little water to remove the outer stickiness, rinse them well under running water, and remove the beak, eyes, and all internal parts. Dry and set aside.

In a pot, sauté half a clove of garlic with parsley stems, then add the octopuses. Pour in a portion of the white wine, remove the garlic and parsley stems, and cover with a lid.

Continue cooking over low heat for about 20 minutes, occasionally sprinkling with the remaining white wine. Add the tomato passata, cover again, and continue cooking for another 30 minutes, still over low heat.

Season with salt and black pepper, turn off the heat, and let it rest with the lid slightly ajar for at least 30 minutes, allowing the sauce to absorb all the flavors of the octopus.

For the pasta

350 g of spaghettoni from Gragnano
Parsley and garlic to taste for garnish
40 g of Italian extra virgin olive oil

Method

Cook the spaghetti in plenty of salted water, drain them, and add them to the sauce in the pan. Finally, season with chopped parsley and garlic.

Adjust salt and pepper, toss off the heat with extra virgin olive oil, and serve.

Chef's tip

It's important not to salt the pasta cooking water too much, so you can adjust the salt in the second cooking phase in the pan. It's always better to add salt than to end up with a dish that's too salty. Just like with Neapolitan ragù, here too, using bread to mop up the sauce is a must!

You can find all the chef's recipes here.

Cover photo: @Stefano Fusar