Nonna Lisa’s Tiella Filling of Octopus, Garlic, and Oil

Name: Nonna Lisa’s Tiella Filling of Octopus, Garlic, and Oil
Yield: makes about 4 cups of filling, for a 12-inch tiella
Ingredients: 4 pounds frozen, cleaned octopus (tentacles about 1/2 inch wide at thickest part); 2 bay leaves; 1 pound ripe plum tomatoes (4 tomatoes); 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 1/2 tablespoons sliced garlic; 2/3 cup Gaeta olives, pitted and cut in half; 1/4 teaspoon peperoncino flakes; 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley; A large pot for cooking the octopus; A heavy-bottomed skillet or sauté pan, 12-inch diameter or larger

December 14, 2011

The Golfo di Gaeta teems with octopus, and Nonna Lisa can buy them fresh all year round to make this delicious tiella filling. With rare exceptions, however, octopus sold in the United States has been frozen (and usually cleaned) before coming to market. And while I almost always prefer fresh seafood, properly frozen octopus is easy to handle and tastes excellent—some claim that freezing helps to tenderize the flesh. Buy octopus still frozen (not thawed) from a reliable fishmonger or online merchant.

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