salt and pepper to taste This ultra-simple Italian recipe can be served over rice or pasta. Any size of octopus will do. Clean 600-800 g octopus and cut it into chunks. Keep the ink sac if you want to add the ink to the sauce for a richer flavour. Brown 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic in 4 tablespoons of olive oil, then add the octopus. Cover and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes. Add 125 mL dry sherry and the contents of a large can of Italian peeled tomatoes. Break up the tomatoes, add the contents of the ink sac if using and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook gently for about an hour, or until tender, stirring from time to time. From Meryl Constance' column in the Sydney Morning Herald, "Raw Materials". 1. 0.053763440860215. Courtesy, Mark Herron.