Italian cuisine · Dough, Pasta & Rice

Paccheri with Octopus Sauce

Large tube pasta in a slow-braised sauce of octopus, tomatoes, garlic and chili.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 1 kg octopus (cleaned, frozen)
• 400 g paccheri (or rigatoni)
• 1 can chopped tomatoes (400 g)
• 200 g cherry tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 dried chili
• 150 ml white wine
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley
• Salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Rinse the thawed octopus and cut into 3 cm pieces, slice the garlic and crumble the chili.
2. Warm the olive oil in a wide pot, gently sizzle the garlic and chili for 1 min. until fragrant but not browned.
3. Add the octopus, sear for 5 min. over medium heat, deglaze with the white wine and let it evaporate for 3 min.
4. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and the halved cherry tomatoes, season lightly with salt, cover and braise over low heat for 55–65 min. until the octopus is fork-tender and the sauce turns deep red.
5. Cook the paccheri in plenty of salted water for 2 min. less than the package instructions, drain, reserving a cup of pasta water.
6. Toss the pasta with the sauce and a little pasta water for 2 min., season with pepper, and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.