Hi there everyone! Well, this is a dish my grandma prepared often… As I grew up on the island, fresh seafood was often on the menu :). I was never a big fan of seafood, but I love octopus and shrimp recipes and I prepare them often. There are many ways of preparing octopus, I’ve seen and tried various recipes, but this one and the simple octopus salad with tomatoes, black olives and lemon are my favorite ones.

My grandpa taught me to always freeze the fresh octopus so it will take less time to cook and it won’t be chewy and tough. Of course you should clean it before, so you can put it frozen directly into boiling water. If you need to cut it into small pieces, do it after it’s cooked. You have probably heard of numerous ways on how to cook the octopus and make it tender by adding wine cork into the pot, adding some vinegar or beat if before, but of all these ways I found that freezing it for at least 24 hours and then cooking it is the best way. I haven’t seen any difference between cooking it with the wine cork or without it, so you can give it a try if you like to, but…

If you bought a fresh octopus and you have no time for freezing it, then you can try this recipe… My grandpa also taught me that the best way to cook the octopus is to cook it on low heat, once the water is boiling you should cover the pot and cook it over the low heat until it becomes tender, without salting the water. This way it will take you longer to cook it, but it will be really tender! When I prepare the octopus salad I cook it in the boiling water, but for pasta with octopus I clean and wash the octopus first, then add it in a skillet with fresh tomatoes and I cook it over low heat until it becomes tender. It really takes longer to prepare it, but it is well worth it…

The sauce is delicious, there is no other seafood sauce I love better than this one… and the secret is in long cooking, as I believe that this is the secret for the most of other sauces like bolognese sauce or the simple tomato sauce… Try cooking your bolognese sauce for half an hour, then try to cook it for three hours you will see a big difference. I know that nowadays we have less time for preparing these kinds of sauces at home, but if you think that it will take you only 20 minutes for the preparation and the rest is just giving a stir every now and then, it is not that bad…

Enjoy your pasta!