How to cook octopus for salad. Traditional methods and Thermomix

At my house, octopus is among the favorite mollusks. We, who are fish lovers, living on the shores of the Strait of Messina, can’t do without it in all its preparations:

in salad, ragù, risotto, fried, and we even manage to use the cooking water for fantastic risottos.

Octopus is an important source of vitamins and minerals, and its low fat content makes it ideal for a low-calorie diet.

My husband and I often enjoy this fishing activity; for this purpose, I’ll explain the different types of octopus:

The best and most flavorful is the rock octopus or those from the seabeds where there is no sand, like gravel, especially when they are below 10 oz/18 oz.

When they weigh over 2 lbs, it’s better to let them rest in the freezer for at least 24/48 hours to break the fibers and make them more tender.

Larger octopuses are ideal for boiling or cooking in ragù.

Today, I’ll give you cooking times per kg of octopus, but with a tip, I don’t just cook the octopus with the stove on, but also with the stove off, and with today’s times, that’s what matters most.

Just halve the time it stays on the stove and let it rest in its cooking water for the remaining time.

I’ll also give you pressure cooker times, but this is only for octopuses over 1 kg.

Speaking of octopus:

Cost: Economical
Rest time: 10 Minutes
Preparation time: 5 Minutes
Portions: 4
Cooking methods: Stovetop
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients

2.2 lbs octopus (weighed cleaned)
1 clove garlic (if you like)
1 bunch chopped parsley
3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
to taste pepper (1)

How to cook octopus for salad

Tools

1 Knife
1 Pot

Steps

Cleaning the octopus is very easy and takes just a few steps.
Insert your fingers at the base of the head and you will find a pocket, turn it inside out like a sock. At this point, with a small knife, detach all the adhesions that the intestine has around the skin inside the head.
Rinse under running water, running your hands over the tentacles multiple times to avoid any sand or pebble residues.
The mouth is located underneath in the middle of the tentacles. I prefer to remove it when the octopus is cooked, so it’s easier, just make a small incision and it’s done.
For an octopus of about 2.2 lbs, fill the pot to about half its capacity, considering that the octopus shouldn’t cook in too much water, so for an octopus of this size, one and a half times its weight in water should suffice.
Bring the water to a boil, and as soon as it boils, grab the octopus by the head and dip it up and down 3 or 4 times until the tips of the tentacles start curling. Then let it go.
Cover the pot and make sure to keep it at a high heat; it should never stop boiling for about 40 minutes if you want to do all the cooking and then cool it, or if you want to use my method, 20 minutes at high heat and then another 20/30 with the heat off, still covered.
If you want to use a pressure cooker, after immersing the octopus as described above, count 10 minutes from the whistle, then turn it off and leave the octopus in its water until the cooker stops whistling.
If the octopus or octopuses, if you are cooking more than one together, are about 1.1 lbs, cooking times will decrease as the size decreases. The real gauge, in fact, is the fork, and then it’s up to your taste.
Some like octopus nice and firm, and some prefer it soft; in any case, the important thing is not to overcook it otherwise it will lose its skin, giving an unsightly visual effect. As you can see, I haven’t used salt, because this mollusk is already flavorful on its own.
When you have removed the octopus from the pot, do not throw away the water, but you can use it to make a great risotto click here
Now that the octopus is cooked, place it on a cutting board, and…
cut it into pieces, then season it with evo oil, lemon, garlic, parsley, and black pepper,
mix and serve. You can enjoy it both hot and cold. Here’s how to cook octopus for salad
With the Thermomix, it’s advisable not to exceed a maximum weight of 1.76 lbs, and the water in the mixing bowl should be 2 cups.
Once you have weighed the water in the mixing bowl, add the octopus, or small octopuses, and cook: 15 min./Varoma/reverse/speed 1.
here
How to cook octopus for salad