Ingredients
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1 Kg Octopus
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1 Kg Potato
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160 g Extra virgin olive oil
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1/2 Lemon
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20 g ParsleyFresh
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As you like Salt
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As you like Pepper
Directions
Italian Octopus Salad is a classic of Italian cuisine. An appetizing, nutritious and at the same time light dish to be enjoyed as an appetizer or second course seafood dish. The recipe is easy and the secret to perfect success lies in the cooking of the ingredients and the balance of flavors.
Italian Octopus Salad is a tasty and easy dish to make by following a few tricks: the octopus and potatoes are boiled separately and dressed with a parsley vinaigrette. Made this way, it becomes an appetizing appetizer or second course seafood dish.
Preparation requires those little attentions that make the result perfect and the dish delicious. The secret to obtaining a very soft octopus lies in slow and gentle cooking: we recommend double cooking and cooling in water. A useful tip is to freeze the octopus very fresh before eating it, this way you will get a kind of maturation of its meat.
The octopus is a tasty shellfish that provides good protein and low fat, hence low calories: an ideal food for those who like to eat healthily. Provided with eight tentacles, the octopus is differentiated into wild octopus, also called rock octopus, which has two rows of suckers on each tentacle and sand octopus, which lives in the open sea and has only one row. Wild octopus/Rock octopus is more flavorful and therefore prized.
Steps
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1
Done
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To make Italian Octopus Salad with potatoes start by cleaning the octopus (if you have not bought it already cleaned) by removing the eyes, ink sac and bone. Rinse it very well under running water. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, take the octopus by the head, plunge the tentacles into the boiling water for a few seconds then bring the octopus back up. Repeat this operation three times. This will curl the tentacles. Then lay the octopus on a plate. |
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2
Done
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Rinse the pot, cool it, fill it with cold water and add a teaspoon of salt. Submerge the octopus with the tentacles up and the body down: the whole octopus should be completely submerged in the water. Bring to a boil then cover with a lid and allow 20 minutes for cooking. With octopuses of less than a kilo (600/700 grams, 10 minutes will be enough). Turn off the heat and keeping the pot covered continue cooking the octopus in the hot water. From time to time (but not too often otherwise you risk losing heat by constantly lifting the lid) turn the octopus over and check its tenderness with the tines of a fork. Getting a soft octopus will take about 50 minutes. Once cooked let it cool in its water and then transfer it to a bowl or cutting board. |
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3
Done
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Meanwhile, peel the potatoes, rinse them and cut them into cubes of about 2 cm. Boil them in plenty of salted water for about 20 minutes; they should be firm without flaking. Drain them and let them cool on a plate, spaced fairly far apart. |
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4
Done
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When the octopus is cold, cut it into pieces similar in size to potato cubes. Then devote yourself to the vinaigrette: emulsify the oil, chopped parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl with a fork or small whisk. |
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5
Done
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In a fairly large salad bowl, bring together the octopus and potatoes, add the vinaigrette, and toss very gently until the dressing is evenly distributed. Let it rest for a couple of hours in the refrigerator before serving. Ideally, it should be kept chilled overnight. Serve the Italian Octopus Salad with potatoes at room temperature. |
