Luciana-style octopus: an amazing second course of fish

Luciana-style octopus is a recipe that contains the fishermen's secrets for cooking a soft and tasty octopus. Curious to discover them?

Octopus Luciana is the best way you will ever experience to cook stewed octopus. The origin of the dish can be traced back to the village of Santa Lucia , in the province of Naples, where the inhabitants, mostly fishermen, used to cook their catch by drowning it in tomato sauce.

In a completely similar way it is possible to prepare Luciana-style octopus, smaller and quicker to cook. What remains unchanged, however, are the aromas: black olives and capers above all. The Luciana octopus recipe will become your secret for keeping the octopus soft and tasty.

How to cook octopus Luciana style

1. First, clean the octopus (or baby octopus). Remove the eyes and the beak located between the tentacles using a small knife, then empty the bag by making a hole in the side.
2. Rinse it under running water to remove any sand residue between the suction cups, then rinse the inside of the head well too.
3. At this point, take a pan and heat 1 generous drizzle of oil with the garlic.
4. When it is hot, add the cherry tomatoes cut in half and leave for a few minutes.
5. Then add the olives, capers and chilli pepper.
6. Mix everything well and leave to flavor for a few minutes.
7. Then add the tomato puree, salt and pepper, then add the octopus (or baby octopus) when it starts to simmer.
8. Immerse the octopus well in the sauce, then lower the heat and cover with the lid, leaving to cook for about 30-40 minutes . As needed, if the sauce thickens too much, add a little water.
9. When the octopus is soft, turn off the heat, finish with another sprinkling of fresh parsley and bring to the table.

Your Luciana-style octopus is ready to be served with croutons.

Among the other recipes with octopus we recommend you try octopus with potatoes , a timeless classic.