Tonnarelli Al Nero Di Seppia Con Polpo Recipe

Clean and tenderize

If your octopus is not pre-cleaned, remove beak and ink sac. Rinse well under cold water. Freeze briefly (several hours) or physically tenderize by pounding the thick parts to help break down connective tissue — this step improves tenderness but is optional for already tenderized octopus.

Poach octopus

Place the octopus in a large pot and add water to cover by 2–3 cm. Add bay leaves, halved onion, peppercorns and 1 tablespoon coarse salt. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat (do not boil vigorously). Simmer gently for 40–60 minutes depending on size: for an 800 g octopus plan on ~45 minutes. Test tenderness by inserting a skewer into the thickest part of a tentacle — it should slide in with little resistance. Keep the cooking liquid; reserve 200 ml for the sauce and cool remaining liquid for other uses.

Cool and slice

Remove the cooked octopus from the pot and let cool slightly. Peel away the outer skin if you prefer (optional). Cut tentacles into 1–1.5 cm thick slices and chop the head into bite-sized pieces. Toss the cut octopus with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, add 2 tablespoons coarse salt. Add tonnarelli and cook until al dente, reducing the package time by about 1 minute if you plan to finish in the sauce (typically 8–10 minutes). In the last 2 minutes of pasta cooking, stir in the squid ink diluted in 2 tablespoons of warm water so it dissolves and begins to flavor the pasta water; alternatively, mix the squid ink directly with a few tablespoons of pasta cooking water when draining.

Reserve 250 ml of pasta cooking water before draining. Drain the pasta and set aside (do not rinse).

While pasta cooks, heat 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a wide skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and chopped shallot and sweat gently until translucent and fragrant, about 2–3 minutes; do not brown the garlic.

Add the zucchini half-moons and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are just tender and beginning to color, about 4–5 minutes. Add the sliced sun-dried tomatoes and crushed red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute to release aroma.

Pour in 100 ml white wine and increase heat to medium-high to flambé off alcohol, scraping any browned bits from the pan. Reduce the wine by half, about 1–2 minutes.

Add the reserved 200 ml octopus cooking liquid (or fish stock) and 100–150 ml of the reserved pasta water. Bring to a gentle simmer to combine and adjust seasoning with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Let the sauce reduce slightly for 2–3 minutes until it thickens to a glossy consistency.

Add the cut octopus to the pan and toss gently for 1–2 minutes just to reheat and marry flavors — do not overcook the octopus to avoid toughness.

Add the drained tonnarelli to the pan with the sauce. If you did not add squid ink to the cooking water, stir in the 2 tablespoons squid ink now dissolved in 2–3 tablespoons hot pasta water. Toss vigorously, adding additional reserved pasta water a tablespoon at a time as needed, until the pasta is evenly coated and glossy, about 1–2 minutes. The sauce should cling to each strand.

Stir in lemon zest, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, 1 teaspoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil. Taste and adjust salt, pepper or lemon as needed.

Divide pasta among warm plates. Garnish with the remaining parsley. Serve immediately.