Polpo alla Luciana is a Neapolitan dish named for the Santa Lucia fishing quarter. It is a braise: octopus in white wine, cooked covered at a whisper of heat until the meat goes tender and the liquid concentrates into a sauce. What started as a secondo became, somewhere along the way, a pasta.
The trick is the first plunge. Dip the tentacle tips into the hot pan three times before lowering the whole octopus in. They curl immediately and stay curled. After that, low heat and patience do the rest. Forty-five minutes, no checking, no lifting the lid.
We use Gusta spaghetti for this, finished in the sauce so the pasta absorbs some of the braising liquid. The result is the color of the sea at low tide and tastes like it too.
Set servings and units first. You can change them anytime.
Clean the octopus: rinse under cold water. If the beak is intact, push it out from the base of the tentacles and discard.
Heat 45 ml of olive oil in a wide heavy pan over high heat. Hold the octopus by the head and dip just the tentacle tips into the hot oil three times in quick succession. They curl on contact. Lower the whole octopus into the pan.
Sear for 1 minute. Deglaze with the white wine. Let the alcohol evaporate over high heat, about 2 minutes. Add one garlic clove and 4 tablespoons of water. Reduce to the lowest possible heat, cover tightly, and braise for 45 minutes.
Remove the octopus and let it rest on a board until cool enough to handle. Cut the tentacles and body into 1 in pieces. Reserve all of the braising liquid.
In the same pan, lightly brown the second garlic clove in a thread of olive oil. Add the tomato passata. Stir in the cut octopus and 1 cup of the reserved braising liquid. Simmer uncovered over medium heat for 10 minutes. Adjust salt.
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti for 9 minutes. Reserve 2 cups of pasta water before draining.
Transfer the spaghetti directly into the octopus sauce. Toss over medium heat, adding pasta water a splash at a time, until the sauce is glossy and coats the pasta. Plate immediately with chopped parsley and black pepper.
You made Spaghetti con Polpo in Umido. Time to eat.
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If the octopus is large (over 1 kg), add 10 minutes to the braise. The skewer test is reliable: it should pass through a tentacle with no resistance at all.
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