Spaghetti with Pulpo, cooked quickly

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is a chef, food photographer, cookbook author and blogger.
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My recipe Spaghetti Pulpo brings holiday cuisine to your table. Mediterranean pasta with a seafood ingredient, squid, is simple and quick on the plate. The Italian mama would call this dish “al sugo di polpo”.

Already cooked octopus from the Spanish shop of your choice or the well-stocked supermarket makes the preparation so nimble and sure to succeed.

The dish lets us stay slim and gives sunny beach feelings. Just try it out and experience it. I wish you good luck! 

1. Prepare the spaghetti sauce

Close-up of spaghetti with tomato sauce and pulpo
Spaghetti in tomato sauce with pulpo looks so delicious!

Cooking tomato sauce with seafood is quick: I prepare the base without onions, but use garlic, carefully browned in olive oil. You can find some tips on frying garlic in Spaghetti aglio e olio.

Quickly deglaze the mixture with dry white wine and add the tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, sugar and herbs. Allow the sauce to simmer gently for about 10 minutes to add pleasure to the plate.

You can use fresh tomatoes: Stew small tomatoes in the oven with sugar, salt and oil beforehand, see the recipe tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes, or use canned tomatoes.

Our pulpo comes ready-made from the refrigerated section of the Spanish supermarket. We save ourselves the trouble of cooking, because our squid is already ready, tender and crumbly.

Cooked octopus
Cooked squid for further use in the kitchen

Pulpo brings a new highlight to the spaghetti plate!

Says Chef Thomas Sixt

I sautéed the squid very briefly in the pan before it went onto the plate:

Octopus in the pan
Tender cooked squid cut into pieces and lightly fried in the pan.

The basic sauce is so simple:

2. Cooking spaghetti properly

My mantra: “The sauce is waiting for the spaghetti!” What does that mean: First cook the sauce and the additions, then add the spaghetti to the boiling water.

I use a lot of salt: I take 2-3 tablespoons of salt per 5 litres of water to give the spaghetti flavour. Unfortunately, seasoning weakly salted pasta does not usually work!

2-3 tbsp. salt to 5 litres of water! Pasta water must taste like seawater.

Ingredients Tip from Chef Thomas Sixt

I even always add olive oil because, in my view, it doesn’t harm the taste and the spaghetti sticks together less.

3. Recipe spaghetti with pulpo

Here are my instructions for a successful Mediterranean pasta. Feel free to leave me a comment or kitchen gossip at the bottom of the page.

Spaghetti with Pulpo

Instructions with tips from cooking professional Thomas Sixt.

Servings 2
Calories 688
Total Time 53 Min.
Preparation Time 8 Min.
Cook Time 29 Min.

Spaghetti with Pulpo recipe, in the article I show you the simple Mediterranean cuisine. Have fun and good luck!

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Spaghetti with pulpo
Spaghetti with Pulpo recipe picture

Ingredients

Ingredients for the sauce

400 g tomatoes (from the can)
1 tsp brown cane sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
4 pinches Pepper
5 pc Garlic cloves
2 tbs oliv oil
80 ml dry white wine
1 tsp thyme (or majoram)

Preparation octopus

300 g pulpo (I use cooked squid)
1 tbs oliv oil

Spaghetti

200-250 g spaghetti (they are also available gluten-free!)
2 tbs Salt (I use rock salt or Himalayan salt)
1 tbs oliv oil

Addition according to taste

50 g parmesan (finely grated or shaved with a peeler)
1 tbs chopped fresh herbs (basil, thyme, marjoram, parsley…)

Instruction

Roast the garlic in the pan

Finely dice the peeled garlic and sauté for about 4 minutes until lightly coloured.

Canned tomatoes

Use a large can of tomatoes.

Chop the canned tomatoes until sticky

Cut tomatoes suitably chunky.

Tomato sauce in the pan

Deglaze the garlic in the pan with the white wine, add the tomatoes and bring to the boil. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, sugar and herbs to taste.

Boiled squid
Boiled squid for further use in the kitchen

Remove the pre-cooked octopus from the packaging and get ready.

cooked pulpo cut into pieces

Cut the pulpo into nice pieces.

Squid in the pan
Tender boiled squid cut into pieces and lightly seared in the pan.

Fry the octopus pieces briefly in the pan. No longer than 3-4 minutes, otherwise the pieces will become too firm.

Spaghetti while cooking in a saucepan
Cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water. Season the water well with salt. The spaghetti water should taste like sea water!

Cook the spaghetti in a large pot until al dente, drain, drain well.

Spaghetti con pulpo in the pan

Toss the spaghetti in the tomato sauce then add the pulpo.

Spaghetti mixed with pulpo and tomato sauce

Fold the pulpo well into the spaghetti.

Spaghetti with pulpo
Spaghetti with Pulpo recipe picture

Serve the pasta dish on the warmed plate. Enjoy your meal!

Video

I show you how to prepare diced tomatoes from fresh tomatoes here:

Skin and peel tomatoes – also check out the tomato sauce strained tomatoes the instructions for tomato sauce fresh tomatoes and spaghetti with tomato sauce.

4. Calories (kcal.) and nutritional values

5. More cooking tips

Comments, Cooking Questions and Answers

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