Finally a tender octopus that melts in your mouth without having to resort to strange tricks like: corks in the water, dunking it three times before fully immersing it, freezing the octopus before cooking it and so on!
One of my favorite dishes is octopus and potato salad, a classic starter but in larger portions it’s also a great main dish, and it’s not always easy to obtain tender meat.
When I was a child my father used to spear them and even claimed that to tenderize them you had to bang them against a rock!
But no more urban legends: since I have the crock pot I don’t have to worry anymore.
Just put all the ingredients into the pot, wait for the cooking time to finish and the result will exceed your expectations!!!!
OCTOPUS AND POTATO SALAD with the SLOW COOKER
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 4 Hours
- Portions: 4 servings
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients for octopus and potatoes
- 2.2 lbs Octopus
- 1.8 lbs Potatoes
- 3 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 10 Taggiasca olives
- 1 bunch Parsley (chopped)
- to taste Salt
- 1 pinch Pepper (optional)
octopus and potato salad with the slow cooker
If you bought a fresh octopus the first thing to do, if the fishmonger has not already done it, is to clean it.
Remove the sac located in the head, remove the eyes with the tip of a knife and also remove the central beak found in the head.
Rinse well under running water.
If instead you bought frozen octopus you can of course skip all the previous steps; the only thing you will have to do is thaw it.
Lightly oil the pot of your slow cooker (one tablespoon of oil is enough) and place the octopus inside.
I prefer to cook the potatoes separately in a pressure cooker (5 minutes) or in a regular pot because I don’t like them to be “contaminated” by the water that forms from the octopus while cooking, and at least they remain nicely white.
To further flavor the octopus during cooking you can add a few Taggiasca olives and a bay leaf, but these are optional.
Do not add any liquid at all!
Turn the slow cooker on to HIGH and set the time for 4 hours.
Meanwhile cook the potatoes (in the pressure cooker, in a regular pot or in the microwave).
When the octopus has finished cooking open the pot lid and let it cool in its own cooking liquid.
Once cooled, take it out of the pot. Usually a slight gelatinous layer forms on top; to remove it I quickly rinse it under lukewarm water.
Meanwhile the potatoes will also be cooked; peel them and cut them into pieces about 1 inch (2 to 3 cm) in size, do the same with the octopus.
In a separate bowl prepare an emulsification with olive oil, lemon juice, chopped parsley, salt and pepper.
Transfer the octopus and potatoes to a salad bowl and dress with the emulsification.
Finish by adding a few pitted Taggiasca olives cut into pieces.
Serve the octopus salad warm or at room temperature
TIPS:
You can add half a glass of white wine during cooking, a few cherry tomatoes cut into pieces and a clove of garlic for a more intense flavor.
LOW TEMPERATURE COOKING
If you want more information about low temperature cooking read this article https://blog.giallozafferano.it/atavolacontea/cottura-a-bassa-temperatura-slow-cooker-vantaggi-e-svantaggi/
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