Roasted Octopus, with potatoes and spring onions

Thaw the octopus beforehand and put a large pot containing ¾ full of water on to heat.

Cut the celery stalks and red pepper into thin strips. Lightly crush the garlic cloves (with their skins on) and slice the chilli pepper.

Place the vegetables and bay leaves in a roasting tray and arrange the well-washed new potatoes on top.

Season with salt, drizzle with 1 dl of olive oil and 0.3 dl of vinegar, and roast in the oven at 180 °C for 1 hour.

When the water in the pot starts to boil, plunge the whole octopus into it to give it a thermal shock.

Remove the octopus immediately, set it aside and wait for the water to come back to the boil.

Repeat the process of plunging in and removing the octopus two more times.

On the fourth plunge, finally leave the octopus to cook for approximately 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel the spring onions and sweet potato, cutting the latter into pieces.

After the new potatoes have been roasting for 30 minutes, add the spring onions and sweet potato to the roasting tray.

Check whether the octopus is cooked by piercing it with a fork; if the fork goes in without resistance, remove the octopus from the pot. Separate the octopus tentacles and arrange them in the roasting tray as well.

Sprinkle everything with sweet paprika, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and vinegar, and adjust the salt.

Leave to brown in the oven for approximately 15 minutes. Just before serving, sprinkle the roasting tray with chopped parsley.