Linguine with Baby Octopus Luciana Style
An extremely simple and tasty first course with a taste of the sea. Linguine (or spaghetti) are dressed with a fresh and quick sauce prepared with “Luciana-style” baby octopus, a recipe originating from the Santa Lucia village in Naples – a fishing neighborhood – called “luciani” because they were known for catching true octopus.
It practically constitutes an excellent, light, and low-calorie unique seafood dish, cooked with a good sauce, enriched with capers and black olives, a healthy and light recipe.
This dish is among my TOP recipes, for its deliciousness and simplicity of execution, and because it always achieves great success.
If you’re looking for other foolproof (sweet or savory) recipes that are sure to succeed, click on the Special: “My TOP Recipes“.
If you love Neapolitan cuisine, visit the Section of my Blog dedicated entirely to Neapolitan recipes (sweet and savory): “Authentic Neapolitan Cuisine“.
If you’re looking for light, healthy, and diet recipes, click on the Section: “Light but Delicious Recipes“
If you’re looking for summer recipes (sweet and savory), click on my: “Summer Special“.
If you’re looking for easy and quick recipes (sweet or savory) click on my Special. “Easy and Quick Recipes“.
You might also be interested in:
- Very Tender Octopus Salad by Laura Ravaioli. Light and easy recipe.
- Vermicelli with Clams. Foolproof Neapolitan recipe, all tricks and secrets.
- Neapolitan Style Gratinated Calamari, express recipe, ready to bake in 10 minutes.
- Easy and Tasty Tuna Linguine
- Shrimp Tempura without eggs. The perfect recipe!
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 3 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons, Summer
Ingredients for Linguine with Baby Octopus Luciana Style
- 300 g linguine (or spaghetti)
- 6 baby octopus (about 500 g)
- 100 g Gaeta olives
- 50 g capers
- 200 g cherry tomatoes
- 2 garlic
- 100 g extra virgin olive oil
- as needed salt (for the pasta)
- Half glass dry white wine
- as needed parsley
- as needed chili pepper
Tools
- Cutting Board with two built-in side trays, which are also oven-safe
- Knife
- Pot
- Pan pasta saute pan
Steps for Linguine with Baby Octopus Luciana Style
Attention! It’s better to use fresh baby octopus previously FROZEN, as they will be very tender, because the cold will do the work for you, increasing the water volume in the tissues of the baby octopus, making them very tender.
First, wash and pit the Gaeta olives and cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Take a pan and add the baby octopus (without oil or water), cook them WITHOUT anything (secret for the perfect success of the recipe) until all the water they release evaporates; the pan should be dry.
Let the baby octopus absorb all their water (the pan will be pink, but that doesn’t mean the baby octopus are burnt, it’s their flavor released during cooking), set them aside, and in the same pan flavored by the baby octopus, add the oil and sauté the garlic, chili pepper, Gaeta olives, capers (don’t remove the salt, BUT don’t add any more salt to the sauce); after 3 minutes, put the baby octopus back, deglaze with white wine, and after 5 minutes add the chopped cherry tomatoes and cook for another 10 minutes.
Once the sauce is cooked, chop the baby octopus into small pieces, leaving some whole for the aesthetics of the dish.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil, cook the pasta al dente (drain it 5 minutes earlier than the package instructions; reserving the cooking water).
Add the al dente linguine to the pan with the baby octopus sauce, add a ladle of cooking water, and toss the pasta until absorbed.
Serve the hot linguine, sprinkled with finely chopped parsley.
Shopping Tips!!!
This cutting board with two built-in side trays (one for chopped food, the other for scraps) is very convenient.
To make this recipe, I used this handy pasta saute pan that is light and professional, ideal for tossing pasta, the narrow bottom and wide angle of the cooking tool, are optimal for tossed cooking without spills.
You can buy all the items I recommend above, on Amazon, at a great price, just click directly on the respective links.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Why are they called “Baby Octopus Luciana Style”?
Baby octopus Luciana Style is called so because their origin is indelibly linked to the Borgo of Santa Lucia, an area of the Campania capital located near Castel dell’Ovo, one of the oldest quarters of the city, where the inhabitants, by natural vocation, were fishermen.
Difference between baby octopus and musky octopus?
First of all, octopus and musky octopus do not belong to the same species. The musky octopus belongs to the species called eledone moschata and is found in the Atlantic and Northern seas, while the so-called baby octopus are the smaller specimens of the family of octopus vulgaris, found in rocky seabeds and often also in the Mediterranean. In the musky octopus, the tentacles are 8 but have only one row of easily distinguishable suckers; the baby octopus similarly have 8 tentacles, but each of them has two rows of perfectly symmetrical suckers. The musky octopus is considered less valuable than octopus and usually has a lower cost. The musky octopus is more suitable for soups, fry, and salads while the baby octopus are more versatile and suitable for preparing appetizers, first courses, or second courses.
