Italian
Octopus Salad
by Manu Food · 60K subscribers on YouTube
A classic Italian octopus salad, cleaned and boiled until tender, then seasoned with olive oil, lemon, parsley, and green olives. Served cold as a refreshing seafood dish.
Ingredients
7 items- 1 kgOctopusAt least 1 kg, ideally 1–1.4 kg, to allow for shrinkage during cooking
- SaltTo taste
- Black PepperTo taste
- 1 pcsLemonOne half used during cooking, the rest for dressing
- ParsleyFresh, chopped, to taste
- 2 pcsGreen OlivesOr more to taste
- Extra Virgin Olive OilTo taste, for dressing
Method
- Clean the octopus: turn the head inside out and rinse under running water, removing all innards. Cut around the mouth and pull it out. Similarly, cut around the eyes and extract them.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Over high heat, dip the octopus tentacles into the boiling water three times to make them curl. Then flip the octopus and cook over moderate heat. Add salt and pepper. Occasionally check doneness by piercing the thickest part of a tentacle with a fork; when it slides in easily, turn off the heat.
- Let the octopus rest in the hot water for at least one hour, adding half a lemon.
- Remove the octopus from the water and let it cool slightly. Cut it in half lengthwise, then slice into bite-sized pieces.
- Season the octopus with olive oil, salt, lemon juice, parsley, and green olives. Toss well and serve cold.
