Linguine al polpo in biancoLinguine with Octopus in White Sauce

Prepare and wash the octopus

• 1 If using raw, never-frozen octopus, hold it at the base of its arms and strike it against a wet cutting board 30 times (battere il polpo) to loosen the fibers. Skip this operation for thawed frozen octopus.
• 2 Turn the head (mantle) of the 1200 g octopus inside out, remove all remaining innards and ink sac, then turn it back.
• 3 Push out the beak at the center of the arm bases with your thumb and cut it away. Cut around the eyes with a knife to remove them.
• 4 If using raw, never-frozen octopus, put it in a large bowl, sprinkle all over with 30 g coarse salt and rub with both hands for 3–4 minutes. Rub inside the suckers and between the arms with your fingers to release the slippery coating as white foam.
• 5 Rinse the rubbed octopus under running water, changing the water 3 times until the foam and salt are completely gone. For thawed frozen octopus, use no salt: rub inside the suckers and between the arms under running water to remove sand, changing the water 3 times.
• 6 Drain the washed octopus in a colander and pat the surface dry with paper towels.
• 7 Separate 20 g flat-leaf parsley into leaves and stems. Reserve the stems whole to flavor the vegetable broth; roughly chop the leaves, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Gently cook the octopus in aromatic vegetable broth

• 1 Put 1800 ml water, 1 onion cut in half, 1 unpeeled carrot cut in half, 1 celery stalk broken into 2 pieces with its leaves, 2 bay leaves, 8 black peppercorns and all the parsley stems in a deep pot about 22 cm in diameter, just large enough for the octopus. Place over high heat.
• 2 Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer the aromatic vegetables for 15 minutes.
• 3 Holding the octopus by the tips of its arms, dip only the arms into the hot broth for 5 seconds and lift them out, repeating 3 times. Once the arms curl, lower the whole octopus into the pot. If it projects above the broth, add water in 50 ml increments until just covered.
• 4 Maintain a very gentle simmer at 85–90°C, with the surface barely moving. Leave the lid slightly ajar and cook for 45–50 minutes, skimming away any foam with a ladle.

Cool completely in the broth

• 1 Turn off the heat, keep the octopus submerged, close the lid firmly and leave on the stove for 60 minutes to cool while the residual heat relaxes the fibers.

Strain and reduce the broth to 700 ml, and cut the octopus in 2 ways

• 1 MeanwhileWhile the broth reduces, peel 3 garlic cloves. Crush 2 with the flat of a knife and remove the central shoots; thinly slice 1. Split 1 red chili lengthwise, remove the seeds and slice crosswise.
• 2 Lift the octopus from the broth onto a cutting board and separate its 8 arms at the base of the mantle.
• 3 Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the vegetables and parsley stems. Return it to the pot over high heat and boil vigorously for about 20 minutes to reduce it. Measure with a measuring jug until 700 ml remains; if it falls below 700 ml, add water to bring it back to 700 ml.
• 4 Cut the 4 thick arms diagonally into slices 2.5 cm wide and set aside on a plate, leaving the suckers attached.
• 5 Roughly chop the 4 thin arms and the head (mantle) into 5 mm dice and put on a separate plate.

Build the white octopus sauce with aglio e olio

• 1 MeanwhileWhile the sauce simmers, put 4000 ml water in another large pot and start bringing it to a boil over high heat.
• 2 Put 60 ml extra virgin olive oil, the 2 crushed garlic cloves with central shoots removed, the 1 sliced garlic clove and the 1 sliced red chili in a large, deep frying pan at least 28 cm in diameter. Place over low heat.
• 3 Let the garlic gently bubble and become faintly golden over low heat for 4–5 minutes, infusing the oil. Remove only the 2 crushed cloves.
• 4 Add all the chopped octopus from the thin arms and head. Raise the heat to medium and sauté, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 3 minutes, until the edges of the flesh are glossy with oil.
• 5 Pour in 100 ml dry white wine and let it bubble over medium heat for 2–3 minutes to dispel the smell of alcohol.
• 6 Add 200 ml reduced broth and simmer over medium-low heat for 15–18 minutes, drawing a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan.
• 7 Stir in 6 g fine salt and taste to confirm a clearly established saltiness.

Boil the linguine, then finish by absorbing the broth

• 1 MeanwhileWhile the pasta boils, ladle hot pasta water into 4 serving plates to warm them. Empty and wipe with a cloth just before plating.
• 2 Dissolve 40 g coarse salt in 4000 ml boiling water and fan in 400 g linguine.
• 3 Stir broadly 1 time with long cooking chopsticks and boil over medium-high heat for 3 minutes less than the package time.
• 4 At 1 minute before draining, reserve 100 ml pasta water in a measuring jug.
• 5 Place the sauce pan over medium heat and add 200 ml reduced broth to warm through.
• 6 Transfer the linguine directly into the sauce with tongs, letting the water drain off, and toss continuously over medium heat.
• 7 As the liquid decreases, add the remaining broth in 100 ml additions, totaling 200 ml, and keep letting the pasta absorb it for 3 minutes. The total broth used for this absorption stage is 400 ml.
• 8 Partway through, sprinkle in 2 g fine salt and bite a strand to check the seasoning.
• 9 If the sauce becomes too heavy to coat the pasta easily, adjust with the reserved 100 ml pasta water, adding 50 ml at a time.

Add the octopus arms, finish and plate

• 1 Add all the thick arm slices cut 2.5 cm wide to the frying pan and toss over medium heat for 1 minute to warm them.
• 2 Turn off the heat and sprinkle 2 g fine salt and 2 g freshly ground black pepper over all the pasta and octopus.
• 3 Drizzle 20 ml extra virgin olive oil over the pasta and octopus and toss for 10 seconds to emulsify it into the sauce and give it a sheen.
• 4 Add 2/3 of the chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves and mix throughout the pasta and octopus.
• 5 Divide among the 4 warmed plates, twisting the pasta with tongs to give it height. Distribute the remaining sauce and octopus arms evenly over the pasta.
• 6 Scatter the remaining parsley over each plate.