Boiled octopus with peanuts' cream and basil-flavored sauce

• 10 minutes to prepare • 90 minutes to cook  • Serves 4

Octopus lightness

I am sorry I have AWOL for a while. I spent the last two weekends in bed, with a severe flu, and no resources to spare for cooking.

Now that I am back - but my stomach being still troublesome - I decided to prepare something light as well as tasteful, with plenty of proteins and flavor!

It is a simple recipe which involves some boiled octopus, a sauce made of peanuts and EVO oil, and finally few drops of basil-flavored oil. That's it.

I promise I will be better soon, with my usual load of pasta dishes and elaborated recipes, ah ah. For the time being, enjoy!

Here's what you will need for the 4-serving recipe:

1 kg octopus
1 carrot
1 clove

120 g salted peanuts
1 branch celery

1 branch basil

200 ml white wine

EVO oil

salt and pepper

1. Cook the octopus: drop it in a large pan, together with white wine, peeled carrot, celery, the clove. When the wine starts to boil, make it cook for about 60 minutes, covering the pan with a lid and lowering the heat to the minimum. Cooking time depends on the size of the octopus, so consider this time as indicative. The best way to see if the octopus is ready is to skewer it with a fork, in the point where its tentacles are connected to the head: if the fork enters it easily, the octopus is al dente
2. When the octopus is cooked, turn off the heat and let it cool in its cooking water
3. Place salted peanuts in a blender together with 4 tablespoons of EVO oil and 4 tablespoons of water. Blend until you obtain a smooth texture, then add a pinch of salt too
4. Boil water in a small pot, then add basil leaves. Let them boil for one minute, then place them in a frozen bath
5. Drain basil leaves and pat them dry. Finally, place them in a blender with 3 tablespoons of EVO oil and blend until smooth
6. Remove the octopus from the water, and put it on a cutting board. Remove excess skin and cut the tentacles just below their junction to the body, then cut them into pieces
7. Place the octopus in a small bowl, season it with 1 tablespoon of EVO oil and mix well
8. Finally, we just need to arrange our serving plates: spread the peanuts' sauce in 4 plates and lay in the middle octopus. Grind some pepper on top, pour few drops of basil-flavored sauce and then bring it to the table

Nutrition Facts are listed for this recipe in the table below. Data is provided per serving.