Paccheri with Slow-Braised Octopus, Tomato & Red Wine

⏱ 170 min · Serves 4

Octopus braised low and slow in red wine, tomato and chilli until it collapses into silky, savoury ribbons, then folded through big tubes of paccheri that trap every drop of the glossy sauce. It's a Neapolitan seaside classic that tastes like it took all day — because it quietly did, with almost no work from you.

Per serving: 735 kcal · 48.0g protein · 82.0g carbs · 19.0g fat

Ingredients

• 1 whole octopus, about 1.2–1.5 kg, cleaned (fresh or thawed frozen)
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more to finish
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 250 ml dry red wine
• 1 x 400 g tin whole peeled plum tomatoes, crushed by hand
• 300 ml water or light fish stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 strip lemon zest
• 400 g paccheri
• Small bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Sea salt and black pepper
• Squeeze of lemon, to finish

Method

1. Cut the octopus head from the tentacles and slice the head into strips; separate the tentacles into 2–3 pieces each. Pat dry.
2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy casserole over medium heat. Add the onion and celery with a pinch of salt and cook gently for 10 minutes until soft and sweet.
3. Add the garlic and chilli flakes, cook 1 minute, then stir in the tomato purée and fry for another minute until it darkens.
4. Add the octopus and turn to coat. Pour in the red wine, raise the heat and bubble for 3–4 minutes to burn off the alcohol.
5. Add the crushed tomatoes, water or stock, bay leaves and lemon zest. Bring to a bare simmer, cover with a lid slightly ajar and cook very gently for 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until a knife slides into the thickest tentacle with no resistance.
6. Lift out the octopus. Chop the tentacles into bite-sized pieces (keep two pretty tips whole for the top) and return everything to the pan. If the sauce is loose, simmer uncovered for 10 minutes until thick and glossy. Season well.
7. Cook the paccheri in heavily salted boiling water until 1 minute short of al dente. Reserve a mugful of pasta water.
8. Drain the pasta and tip it into the sauce with a splash of pasta water. Toss over medium heat for 1–2 minutes so the tubes fill and glaze.
9. Stir through the parsley and a squeeze of lemon, plate up with the reserved tentacle tips on top, and finish with a thread of good olive oil and black pepper.