The traditional cuisine of Sardinia is in many ways contradictory – an island civilization that preferred to ignore seafood and concentrate on the food of the land, is somewhat odd. However, we must always bear in mind that the Sardinian coast was, constantly, being invaded and rather than waste their time on senseless wars, the inhabitants withdrew to the mountains where they were relatively safe and concentrated, instead, on life. This is not to say that they never ate seafood, they certainly did but it was rare. Today things have changed and the Sardinians love seafood

and their take on it, always a gastronomic experience like this simple dish of octopus.

Ingredients

• 8 medium octopus legs, cut on the diagonal into about 1cm pieces
• 12 large spring onions – only the white bits, trimmed
• 1 whole bulb of garlic, cut in half horizontally – remove all the unnecessary skins
• 50ml extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon, zest and juice only
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 2 tsp fresh thyme, only the little leaves only – pull them off the stalks
• 8 black peppercorns, left whole
• 300g fresh peas, pods removed, shelled
• Extra virgin olive oil to taste
• Fresh fennel to taste, finely chopped

Method

• Heat the oil in a heavy-based casserole over a high heat and as soon as the the oil is just smoking, add the garlic bulb halves, cut-sides down as well as the onions and fry for a few minutes until the onions are crisp and golden-brown.
• Add the octopus pieces and stir fry for 30 seconds, reduce the heat to its lowest setting, squeeze over the lemon juice and sprinkle over the lemon zest, the bay leaves, the thyme and the peppercorns, cover the saucepan with a lid and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes or until the octopus pieces have released their purple-pink juices.
• Continue to simmer the mixture over a low heat for 1 ¾ – 2 hours until the octopus is tender and offers no resistance when pierced with the point of a knife.
• Add the peas when the octopus is tender and continue to cook, uncovered, until the volume of cooking juices has reduced and the peas are tender.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Whisk in the olive oil until well combined and then sprinkle over the chopped wild fennel frond.
• Serve immediately.