Octopus Bolognese

By Kay Chun

Octopus Bolognese
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Brett Regot.
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
4(140)
Notes
Read community notes

This quick and rich nontraditional riff on bolognese features convenient yet under-used tender and meaty tinned octopus. Look for octopus that’s packed in olive oil; the oil will add depth to the sauce, along with clam juice to heighten the seafood flavor. Tangy capers brighten the sauce, while nutty Parmesan rounds it out. (Cheese can typically overpower the delicate flavor of seafood, but octopus has a hearty texture and here, it is enhanced by a hit of nutty Parmesan cheese.) Serve it over pasta or polenta; it’s also great with mashed potatoes or sopped up with crusty bread.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1small onion, cut into ¼-inch pieces (½ cup)
  • 1large carrot, cut into ¼-inch pieces (½ cup)
  • 2celery stalks, cut into ¼-inch pieces (½ cup)
  • Kosher salt and pepper
  • 5garlic cloves, minced
  • 2tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1(28-ounce) can whole tomatoes
  • 1(8-ounce) bottle clam juice
  • 2basil sprigs, plus chopped basil for garnish
  • 2(4-ounce) cans octopus packed in olive oil
  • ¼cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
  • 2tablespoons drained capers
  • Cooked pasta or polenta
  • Red-pepper flakes (optional), for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

709 calories; 70 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 50 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 10 grams protein; 942 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium. Add onion, carrot and celery; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, then the tomato paste and the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly caramelized, 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and their juices, crushing the tomatoes with your hands as you add them to the pot, then stir in the clam juice and basil sprigs; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high.

  2. Step 2

    Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook at a lively simmer for 15 minutes. Add octopus and its oil and mix well. Bring to a boil over medium-high, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes longer. Turn off heat, discard basil, and stir in cheese and capers.

  3. Step 3

    Serve octopus bolognese over pasta or polenta. Garnish with more basil and cheese, plus red-pepper flakes, if using.

Ratings

4 out of 5
140 user ratings
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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Colleen Daly

Please think twice before eating an octopus. Beautiful, intelligent, short-lived creatures of the sea.

MartiJ_dc

I love to try new recipes and am considering making this for Christmas dinner. I've had fresh octopus before and liked it. My local Costco (Arlington, VA) carries octopus in the deli meats section. But I've not seen canned octopus in stores. Is it possible to use the fresh packed octopus or do I need to buy the canned octopus? If I can use the fresh packed stuff, what's the best practice? Seems possible I need to add olive oil and perhaps make it ahead to let flavors "meld"?

Michelle

I often make tomato based pasta sauce with either canned tuna or sardines. I have used tinned muscles also. They give a lot of flavor to the sauce. The fish is already cooked. So you put it at the end with the oil from the tin. You just experiment with various flavors. Capers go well with tinned fish. I like to add sun dried tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts etc for flavor as well. You toss in what you have that balances the flavor.

Rob.

I think you can use fresh octopus. Just adjust the cooking time upwards, as the canned octopus will already have been cooked. You want a low slow simmering time of at least an hour, ideally two hours, to let your fresh octopus cook and tenderize. This recipe is just using canned octopus as a quick shortcut.

toni

This is definitely an adventurous recipe , I feel like seafood with pasta typically suits a creamier sauce so I did add more cheese and some cream to help balance out the acidity of the tomatoes the rich flavor of the clam juice and octopus. I didn’t have basil but I added fresh sage and rosemary parsley as a topping but this might benefit from some toasted breadcrumbs as a topping as well. Overall it’s a delicious recipe that serves as a nice base. My whole family loved it so much

Ray

Cooked this for dinner tonight and it was a huge hit. As usual, I doubled the garlic and added some oregano. Could have used more octopus.

Colleen Daly

Please think twice before eating an octopus. Beautiful, intelligent, short-lived creatures of the sea.

Chris

This is quite good. I agree with others that it's a little watery cooked as written; I had to simmer much longer to get it down to a consistency I liked. So maybe use a smaller can of tomatoes or drain off the juice the tomatoes are canned in. I would also do as commenter Stephanie did and use an additional 4oz tin of octopus and add some anchovies. Lastly, I stirred in sliced pepperoncini and a few spoonfuls of a seaweed-olive tapenade recipe I developed that brightens the whole thing up.

Stephanie

I used 3 tins of polpo from Comur from Portugal. I doubled the tomatoes, added more garlic, and added 5 inches of anchovy paste for a pound of pasta. Delicious. Will make it again!

Trey

Made this last night. We really enjoyed it but agree with one of the reviews below regarding it being a little thin. I'd either simmer longer or maybe exclude the juice from the canned tomatoes. Would hate to cut down on the clam juice due to the flavor it adds.

Bert

This was really good! The canned octopus was tender and tasty. The sauce didn’t really thicken much though.

Melanie

I found this recipe works really well with other types of canned fish, especially sardines. Because it is very muscular, octopus is chewy and tough and has the sensation of the tentacle suckers. Adding capers and a little lemon zest (about a tsp) makes it even more delicious.

Paul

How about doing this with squid rings and tentacles, maybe about 3/4 lb?

Rob

Lol, I accidently bought squid in squid ink instead of canned octopus, I'll be making that tonight and I can let you know how it turns out. I'm hoping it won't matter much.

MartiJ_dc

I love to try new recipes and am considering making this for Christmas dinner. I've had fresh octopus before and liked it. My local Costco (Arlington, VA) carries octopus in the deli meats section. But I've not seen canned octopus in stores. Is it possible to use the fresh packed octopus or do I need to buy the canned octopus? If I can use the fresh packed stuff, what's the best practice? Seems possible I need to add olive oil and perhaps make it ahead to let flavors "meld"?

Rob.

I think you can use fresh octopus. Just adjust the cooking time upwards, as the canned octopus will already have been cooked. You want a low slow simmering time of at least an hour, ideally two hours, to let your fresh octopus cook and tenderize. This recipe is just using canned octopus as a quick shortcut.

GLundberg

Wondering if anybody has tried this with canned tuna (and if so, what sort) or other fish. Thanks.

Michelle

I often make tomato based pasta sauce with either canned tuna or sardines. I have used tinned muscles also. They give a lot of flavor to the sauce. The fish is already cooked. So you put it at the end with the oil from the tin. You just experiment with various flavors. Capers go well with tinned fish. I like to add sun dried tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts etc for flavor as well. You toss in what you have that balances the flavor.

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