Little Octopuses alla Luciana

Preparation

1. STEP 1 OF 10

   Clean the octopuses by turning the sac inside out and emptying it, removing the eyes (not to be confused with the suckers on the tentacles!) and the small bone (the beak) at the base of the sac, then washing them

2. STEP 2 OF 10

   Cook them slowly, covered, in a clay pot (pignatta) with a glass of water (even better if seawater) for 20 minutes to three quarters of an hour: it depends on the size of the octopuses

3. STEP 3 OF 10

   Salt at the end if necessary

4. STEP 4 OF 10

   Drain them, cut them into pieces and dress with chopped or whole garlic, olive oil, plenty of lemon, chopped parsley and pepper

5. STEP 5 OF 10

   Prepare them a little in advance so they have time to absorb the flavors of the dressing

6. STEP 6 OF 10

   In the same way, very large octopuses can also be cooked if you use the trick of beating them hard with a stick to break down the fibers and make them tender

7. STEP 7 OF 10

   Ideally, baby octopuses of up to 100 g each

8. STEP 8 OF 10

   The 'verace' octopus should have two parallel rows of suckers on its tentacles; if it had only one it would be a common 'sinisco', a dweller of the shallows rather than the rocks like its noble relative

9. STEP 9 OF 10

   But that's not the only difference: the 'verace' is clothed in a mottled brown coat with precious pink hues, while the humble 'sinisco' settles for a less refined and more vivid attire

10. STEP 10 OF 10

    An old fisherman from Pozzuoli explains that there is absolutely no relation between the two kinds

Suggestions

• Pan

• Bowl

• Knife

General Information

Analysis

Macronutrients (100 gr)