The octopus and chickpea salad is a perfect cold main dish for the summer season: you can conveniently prepare it in advance and keep it in the fridge until it’s time to serve. Rich, colorful, and tasty, the octopus and chickpea salad can also be served as an appetizer for a seafood dinner in small individual bowls. Cooking the octopus? If you have a slow cooker, it’s super easy. It does everything for you, and you can’t go wrong!
Don’t miss out
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 8 Hours
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Cooking time: 4 Hours
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2.2 lbs octopus
- 9 oz cooked chickpeas
- 3.5 oz yellow cherry tomatoes
- 3.5 oz cherry tomatoes
- 1 red onion
- as needed arugula
- 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 leaves bay leaves
Tools
- 1 Slow cooker Crock-Pot 5.7 liter
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Kitchen Knife
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Salad Spinner
Steps
To prepare the octopus and chickpea salad, I used a pre-cleaned frozen octopus. I took it out of the freezer the night before and let it thaw slowly in the refrigerator. The next morning it was ready. I just washed it well under water and set it to cook.
However, if your packaging doesn’t specify that the octopus is pre-cleaned, or if you’re using fresh octopus (but in this case, you’ll have to check the cooking times yourself as I haven’t tried), you’ll need to clean it: rinse the octopus under running water, scrubbing the head and tentacles well. Pat it dry with paper towels: remove the eyes and beak by cutting the area with a small knife. If the octopus is fresh, it should also be beaten to break the fibers and make the meat more tender. If present, remove the innards from the sack and rinse the octopus again well under running water.
On the bottom of the slow cooker, distribute the oil (I used only a tablespoon, but you can add a bit more). Place the octopus inside the pot with the mouth facing up (the head goes under). Add a clove of garlic and two bay leaves. Close the slow cooker with its lid and set it to HIGH for four hours. Do not add water. There’s no need. Don’t worry; the octopus won’t burn! It will release its own liquid.
At the end of cooking, turn off the slow cooker and let the octopus cool inside.
Wash the cherry tomatoes, dry them, cut them into quarters, and remove the seeds. Wash the arugula and pat it dry with paper towels or use the salad spinner. Rinse the chickpeas under running water and remove their skins: this is an important step because it not only makes the chickpeas more digestible, but you also won’t get the skins in your mouth, which can be annoying, especially in a salad, and the dish will also look more attractive. Peel the onion and slice it. Drain the octopus, pat it dry, and cut it into pieces. Gather all the ingredients (except the arugula) in a bowl, season with oil and salt. Mix well and refrigerate. Add the arugula just before serving.
