The BRAISED BABY OCTOPUS, also known as “Purptiell affugat”, is a classic dish of Neapolitan cuisine that originated in the Santa Lucia neighborhood thanks to a group of fishermen. It is very simple to prepare, quite quick, tender enough to melt in your mouth, very flavorful and made with few, simple ingredients.
You can serve it as an appetizer or as a main course, accompanied by good toasted bread—the “scarpetta” is irresistible—or use it as a sauce for pasta. Note the very few ingredients, get to the stove and delight family and friends with this delicious dish.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4 servings
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 2.6 lbs baby octopus
- 2 cups peeled tomatoes (canned)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 glass white wine
- to taste salt
- to taste black pepper
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- 1 bunch parsley
Tools
- 1 Saucepan
Steps
The preparation of BRAISED BABY OCTOPUS is really simple and quick. You can use either fresh mollusks—in that case you should remove the eyes and the beak and rinse them—or frozen ones, letting them thaw before use.
In a large pan drizzle some olive oil and gently brown the garlic clove. If you like, you can also add a chili pepper.
Add the baby octopus, raise the heat and let them cook for 5 minutes. Deglaze with the wine and, once the alcohol has evaporated, add the peeled tomatoes or tomato purée.
Season with salt and pepper, cover with a lid and simmer gently for about 1 hour, depending on their size, stirring from time to time and adding a little water if the sauce becomes too dry.
Once the baby octopus are tender and the sauce has slightly reduced—they are called “affogati” because they are “drowned” in the tomatoes and their own juices—turn off the heat and sprinkle generously with parsley.
Plate the braised baby octopus and serve with good lightly toasted bread.
STORAGE
If you use fresh baby octopus you can also decide to freeze them, which you cannot do with ones that have already been frozen and thawed. In the latter case you can store them in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
