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Spagetti biz-zalza tal-Qarnit (Spaghetti with Octopus Sauce)

Spagetti biz-zalza tal-Qarnit (Spaghetti with Octopus Sauce) is a traditional Maltese recipe for a classic dish of spaghetti paste served with octopus and a tomato-based sauce with peas, onions, olives, red wine and herbs. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Maltese version of: Spaghetti with Octopus Sauce (Spagetti biz-zalza tal-Qarnit).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

60 minutes

Total Time:

80 minutes

Serves:

6–8

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Sauce RecipesHerb RecipesVegetable RecipesBean RecipesMalta Recipes



Ingredients:

1kg prepared octopus, sliced into even-sized pieces
225g onions, sliced
170g peas
225g tomatoes, blanched, peeled and chopped
115g black olives, pitted and sliced
250ml red wine
675g spaghetti
90g tomato purée
4 strips of lemon zest, finely shredded
1 tbsp mint, shredded
1 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
2 tsp thyme, chopped
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
olive oil

Method:

Add about 60ml oil and 60ml water to a pan. When hot stir in the octopus and fry for 5 minutes then stir in the tomato purée and the herbs. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Strain the octopus (reserve the liquid) and set aside to keep warm.

Add oil to a pan and use to fry the onions for 5 minutes then stir in the tomato, olives and lemon zest. Cook for 3 minutes then add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer then add the octopus liquid and cook for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, add the pasta to a pan of lightly-salted water and cook for about 8 minutes, or until al dente. Drain the pasta, combine with the sauce then arrange in a bowl, top with the octopus pieces and serve.