The octopus salad is a typical dish of Mediterranean cuisine, fresh and light.
We often find it on the menus of seafood restaurants.
Preparing it at home is easier than it seems: a versatile recipe to enjoy with the family that can become an elegant appetizer or a refined second course to serve during holidays and special occasions.
Today, we prepare the octopus salad with raw and crunchy vegetables that enhance its flavor.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 2 People
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- octopus
- water (plenty)
- 1 shot red wine
- leaves bay leaf (if available)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch mixed peppercorns (with grinder)
- to taste parsley (chopped)
- to taste lemon juice
- 1 drizzle extra virgin olive oil (raw)
- to taste carrot
- to taste celery
Suggested Tools
- 1 Pot IMCO or regular
- Knife
- Cutting Board
Preparation
I usually buy frozen octopuses – the ones sold in the supermarket’s frozen section – or defrosted at the fish counter.
If you’ve bought a frozen octopus or froze it after purchase, thaw the octopus by moving it to the fridge the night before cooking it.
In frozen and defrosted octopuses, the head is already gutted, while in fresh octopus, the innards must be removed.
Wash the octopus under running water.
In the IMCO or regular pot, bring plenty of water to a boil: it should completely cover the octopus.
Dip the octopus 3-4 times in boiling water: this step helps curl the tentacles.
Fully submerge the octopus in the water.
Add about a shot of red wine and – if you have them available – a few bay leaves.With IMCO pot
Cover with the lid and bring to a boil.
When a thread of steam appears, turn off the heat.With regular pot
Continue cooking over low heat.With either pot
Let cook for 40 minutes – octopus weighing 1-1.2 kg.
After 40 minutes, check the octopus’s doneness by piercing a tentacle with a fork.
Let the octopus cool in the cooking water; this way, the skin will remain firm.Remove the octopus from the pot.
Your octopus is soft and tender to the right point and with whole skin is ready.
Cut the octopus into chunks and, if necessary, remove some of the thicker skin, such as that at the tentacle base.
Season with:
– a pinch of salt;
– a pinch of pepper;
– chopped parsley;
– lemon juice;
– a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.You can enjoy it simply or add vegetables.
Add the vegetables.
I prepared the classic version with carrot and celery chunks.Plate it.
Your octopus salad with vegetables is ready.
Enjoy your meal!
– Cooking the octopus to the right tenderness and with whole skin: tips on cooking octopus.
– Octopus salad with potatoes.
– Mediterranean-style octopus.
Storage, Tips, and Variations
The octopus salad keeps in a fridge in an airtight container for one day.
If you want to prepare it in advance, store the boiled octopus without seasoning for up to 2 days and add vegetables and oil only when serving.
For a tastier variant, add capers and olives.
It is perfect for taking outside the house, in a thermal container or a cooler bag.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Should octopus be salted during cooking?
Salt can make the fibers tougher.
Add salt when seasoning.Mollusks and cholesterol
In our dietary plan, squid, octopus, and cuttlefish are among the foods indicated as ‘to be consumed occasionally.’
Even though they are mollusks with lean meat, they are a source of cholesterol, whose intake should be limited.
The nutritional guidelines recommend a dietary cholesterol intake of less than 300 mg per day, which can drop to 200 mg per day in case of hypercholesterolemia and hyperglycemia.
Therefore, octopus does not directly affect blood sugar, but in case of hyperglycemia, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes, it should be consumed in moderation.
