If you love octopus, this dish will satisfy your cravings. Just be sure to allow enough time for the octopus to become fully tender. (You can also use squid, which will cook much more quickly.) This dish employs the unusual but excellent technique of completing the cooking of the pasta in its sauce, something done throughout Italy.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　1/4 cup olive oil

　　1 carrot, chopped

　　1 medium onion, chopped

　　1 celery stalk, chopped

　　Salt and black pepper to taste

　　2 medium octopuses, about 3/4 pound each, cleaned and cut into chunks

　　2 cups dry red wine

　　1 bay leaf

　　1 garlic clove, minced

　　1 pound spaghetti or linguine

　　16 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

　　1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

　　

Step 1

Place 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the carrot, onion, and celery. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion becomes translucent, about 5 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Add the octopus along with some pepper and a little more salt. Cook, stirring, for a minute, then add the wine, bay leaf, and garlic. Cook until the octopus is tender, about an hour (check with the point of a sharp knife). Remove the octopus and cut it into bite-sized pieces, then return it to the skillet; turn the heat to a minimum.

　　

Step 3

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Fifteen minutes before eating, begin to cook the pasta. When it is barely tender—but not nearly tender enough to eat—drain it, reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the octopus mixture, along with half the reserved cooking water. Cook until the pasta is tender but not mushy, adding the remaining cooking water if necessary to keep the mixture from drying out.

　　

Step 4

Add the remaining olive oil, along with the cherry tomatoes. Cook for another minute, taste and adjust the seasoning, then stir in the basil and serve.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.