Preparing the octopus

Put the octopus in a large pot with the onion, cut in half, and set on low heat.

Cap the pot and let octopus and onion release liquid, and keep at low simmer until onion can be easily pierced, which is an indication that the octopus is ready. This takes about an hour.

Marinate the octopus in a vinaigrette for several hours or overnight. You can get as creative as you want with the marinade—I usually do about a cumulative cup of lemon, garlic, and olive oil.

Char the octopus on a grill over high heat on both sides. About 5-8 min on each side.

Remove from grill and slice octopus into disks, then replace in the marinade until you mix it with the sauce before serving. You can add more marinade, as the octopus will soak up a lot of liquid.

Preparing the sauce

In a large skillet, cover the pan with the olive oil and set heat to medium-low. Add garlic and pepper flakes, then add anchovies.

Before the garlic starts to brown, arrest the cooking by adding wine and reducing until liquid is simmered away.

Once wine is reduced, add lemon juice and reduce in the same way.

At about this point, start cooking the pasta.

Now add in the marinated octopus slices to the pasta sauce and mix well. Add tomato and parsley, cap briefly to steam the tomatoes.

Once pasta is ready, add it to the skillet and toss the pasta together, then serve.