The past twelve months have been undeniably aberrant, not to mention abhorrent, but one positive thing that we've picked up is a good home cooked meal. We have enjoyed cooking our favorite Italian dishes and experimenting with new cuisines. However, we still find ourselves coming up short with recipes to cook every now and then, so we felt that it could be a good idea to reach out to our friends and ask them to share their favorite dish while documenting the process to put us in the right mood. First up is photographer and friend, Frederik Darre, cooking spaghetti with octopus ragout for his girlfriend Hanna on their Italian date night.

Frederik wears ANOTHER Shirt 2.1, Black (see more).

Frederik wears ANOTHER Shirt 2.1, Black (see more), Corali x ANOTHER ASPECT, Koyubi Ring Sterling Silver (see more) & Corali x ANOTHER ASPECT, Kusari Bracelet Sterling Silver (see more).

Frederik wears ANOTHER Shirt 2.1, Black (see more) & ANOTHER Pants 1.0, Dark Olive (see more).

And now, the recipe... serves 4-5 persons

RAGOUT:

500g homemade pasta

300g octopus, cleaned and rinsed

100g celeriac, peeled

1 carrot, peeled

1 chili

2 cloves of garlic

1 onion

1/2 dl good virgin olive oil

4 anchovy fillets, chopped

Organic lemon peel

1 dl white wine

2 dl good fish broth

4 tbsp capers

1 can peeled tomatoes, blended

Squid ink (possible to buy in small letters with ink)

5 branches of parsley, sliced 

Juice of half a lemon

20g butter

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper 

METHOD:

1. Run the octopus through a meat mincer. If you do not have one, cut the meat into fine cubes

2. Then run celeriac, carrot, chili, garlic and onion through the meat muncher or in a food processor

3. Heat extra virgin olive oil in large pan and sauté the vegetables under a lid for 10-15 mins, without taking on color. Add the anchovies and grated lemon peel and then the chopped octopus. Boil while stirring for approx 15 min. Add white wine, fish broth, capers and peeled tomatoes and cook for another 15 min

4. Press the ink out and into the pan, and cook the stew further over low heat for approx 30 min. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper

5. Boil the pasta in salted water until it's al dente. Put it in the pan with the stew and cook it all well together for a minute or two. Add parsley, lemon juice and butter, and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper

6. Serve on a large platter