Octopus Carpaccio is not just a summer appetizer; it is also commonly prepared for Christmas, New Year’s Eve tables, and even Easter. In fact, I make it all year round.
It seems like a complicated recipe, but it really isn’t. You just need a pot to cook the octopus, some vegetables to flavor the cooking water, and an empty plastic bottle of at least 1.5 liters.
That’s it! Then you’ll have a delicious and eye-catching appetizer that you can slice very thinly with a sharp knife or a slicer, and you can prepare it well in advance.
If you like octopus, here are some other delicious recipes to prepare it, and then let’s go right under the photo to discover how to make octopus carpaccio!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 8 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 282.50 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 7.65 (g) of which sugars 5.52 (g)
- Proteins 27.18 (g)
- Fat 16.62 (g) of which saturated 3.07 (g)of which unsaturated 1.54 (g)
- Fibers 1.52 (g)
- Sodium 212.35 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 144 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Octopus Carpaccio
- 2.2 lbs octopus
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 5 stalks parsley
- 6 grains black pepper
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 bunches parsley
- 1 lemon
- 2 pinches salt
- to taste black pepper grains
Preparation of Octopus Carpaccio
Clean the octopus following my instructions, place a large pot full of water on the stove, add carrot, onion, and celery, the parsley stalks, the garlic clove, and some black pepper grains.
Once it reaches a boil, immerse the octopus holding it by the head to curl the tentacles 4 or 5 times.
Immerse the entire octopus and cook for 25/30 minutes, turn off the heat, cover the pot with a lid, and let it cool in the water.
In the meantime, cut the neck of a plastic bottle and make 3 or 4 holes at the base with the tip of a knife.
Once it’s warm, remove it from the pot, cut it into large pieces leaving the tentacles whole.
Fill the bottle with 1 piece of octopus at a time without leaving empty spaces, pressing each piece well.
With every layer of octopus pieces, press with a meat mallet or a pestle, you will see that the cooking liquid comes out from the holes under the bottle.
Leave a weight on top of the octopus carpaccio and wrap it all (compressed bottle) with plastic wrap.
As a weight, you can use a jar full of water or a meat mallet.
Let it set by putting it on a shallow plate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
After the resting time, remove the plastic wrap, the meat mallet (or jar), and cut the bottle all the way down with scissors.
Extract the lemon peel, the juice, and in a bowl mix with the extra virgin olive oil, chopped parsley, salt, and black pepper grains.
Slice the octopus thinly with a smooth blade, sharp knife, or a slicer.
Arrange the octopus carpaccio on a serving plate, sprinkle with the citronette and decorate with lemon slices.
If the octopus tends to crumble, place it in the freezer for 30 minutes and then cut it.
Tips and Variations
Put the octopus in the bottle while it’s still warm, this way the octopus’s collagen will act as a binder.
The carpaccio should be prepared a day in advance to allow it to set properly.
To ensure that the octopus doesn’t break when cutting it, you can keep it in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Other Recipes
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