PASTA ALLA LUCIANA
Pasta alla Luciana, originates in Naples, combining tender baby octopus with capers and black olives. The salty flavours of the ocean mixed with sweet tomatoes and the crunch of olives will take you on a trip to the Mediterranean.
After tasting this dish in Naples myself recently I couldn’t get over the flavors given so few ingredients were used. Bring the smell of the ocean home and have some sourdough bread handy to scoop up all that rich sugo – alla scarpetta!
Watch the Pasta alla Luciana video recipe:
How to Cook OCTOPUS PASTA Like an Italian – Pasta alla Luciana
Vincenzo’s Plate Tips
Keep the pan uncovered once the peeled tomatoes have been added
No need to cover the pan once when you’re cooking the peeled octopus. Let the scent of the ocean and the tomatoes spread through your home and announce dinner is coming!
Use rock salt to add the taste of the ocean
Adding a generous portion of rock salt to the boiling water when you cook your pasta will add a little taste of the ocean to the dish.
Don’t get rid of the water when cooking the octopus
When you cook the baby octopus, it will release a fair amount of water. This is perfect and will only add to the flavour of your dish.
Add pasta water if the sauce is too dry
It’s always a good idea to get a mug full of pasta water while you’re cooking your pasta. If your sauce starts to get too dry, add a little pasta water to it. It will bring a beautiful flavor to the sauce.
Pair this dish with a nice white wine
If you can, I recommend you have a dry white wine to pair with this dish because the flavors go beautifully together.
How to Serve Pasta alla Luciana
This pasta can be plated quickly. It isn’t about a beautiful presentation but instead, about enjoying the taste of this marvelous Neapolitan pasta. Make sure to add extra octopus and sauce with each portion. You can also do this using a tablespoon once the pasta is served into the dishes.
Add a sprinkle bit of parsley as garnish and a drop of extra virgin olive oil to the top.
Pasta alla Luciana
Print Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Masher
- 1 pan
- 1 pot
- 1 wooden spoon
- 1 Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 500 grams Baby octopus, 17.6 oz
- 2 cloves Garlic, diced or minced
- 25 pitted black olives
- 2 tbsp Capers in salt
- 250 grams Cherry tomatoes, 8.8 oz
- Fresh parsley, chopped
- 400 grams Large Rigatoni pasta, 14.1 oz
- 1 Small can peeled tomatoes, standard 400g = 14.1 oz
- Extra virgin olive oil, as much as required
- Salt, as much as required
- Pepper, as much as preferred
Instructions
- Pour the peeled tomatoes into a large bowl. Crush them using your hands or a masher.
- Put your pan on the stove and turn up to a medium-high heat before adding a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil to it.
- Crush garlic and add to pan, letting it start to cook and become glossy.
- Once it softens slightly add baby octopus and cover with lid.
- Cook the baby octopus on both sides for a total of 10 minutes and stir occasionally. Cooking time may vary depending on the size of your octopus.
- Add cherry tomatoes and allow to cook with lid for 5 minutes or until the cherry tomatoes are cooked and making love with the baby octopus.
- Add peeled tomatoes to the pan and cook the sauce for 1 hour. After it has been cooking for 10 minutes, stir it and repeat every so often.
- Next, cover the sauce with a lid and cook for 20 more minutes until baby octopus is soft and tender.
- Add water to your large pot and bring to the boil on the stove.
- Once it boils, add a generous amount of rock salt and boil the Rigatoni according to packet instructions.
- Remove the lid from your pan, mix sauce with a wooden spoon then add capers, black olives, parsley, salt, and pepper.
- Cover one last time and turn the heat down to a gentle simmer while your pasta is boiling.
- Combine cooked rigatoni and sauce in a pan and mix using a wooden spoon, or if you can, toss through making sure all the pasta is lathered in the sauce.
Video
E ora si mangia, Vincenzo’s Plate…Enjoy!
Here you can find other 2 Seafood recipes I’m sure you’re going to love:
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