RecipesSides

Octopus & Potato salad

by Micaela Harrasser

Italy is big on many foods, including stunning seafood dishes. This recipe is one such example, and my favorite way of having octopus!

Sadly, octopus isn’t easy to find, and it’s quite expensive here in the Netherlands. That’s why I make it for a special treat or occasion!

The other thing to consider is the cleaning. It’s not complicated but requires you to get your hands dirty, so be prepared! Some people don’t like the octopus’ skin on the tentacles – if you are among those, check my video on how to easily remove them once you cooked it!

One tip: it’s cheaper if you can find only the tentacles rather than a full-body octopus, as the discard will be much less 😉

For the potatoes, the tastier they are, the better the dish (since it has only 2 ingredients) – so my go to choice is new potatoes.

[rating]

Easy and delicious Octopus & Potato salad

Serves: 3x as side/appetizer Prep Time: Cooking Time: Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

  • 400g new potatoes peeled
  • 700g octopus tentacles (or 1kg full octopus)
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 onion
  • ½ celery stick
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt, pepper and sweet paprika to taste
  • Fresh flat leaf parsley to taste

Instructions

  1. Clean the carrot and celery, and chop into big chunks. Half the onion.
  2. Place a large (2L+) pot to heat on the stove, then add just a touch of oil, followed but the veggies.
  3. Now, quickly rinse the octopus under cold water, then add it to the pot.
  4. Add water until you cover the octopus, then bring to a simmer and cover with a lid.
  5. Simmer for 40-50 min – to check if it’s ready, pierce a big piece of flash with a knife: it shouldn’t make too much resistance and should come out easily.
  6. While the octopus cooks, peel wash & cut in half the potatoes.
  7. Place them in a pot with abundant cold water, then cook until ready (not mushy!), about 20-25 min depending on their size.
  8. Once ready, take the potatoes out and place them in a bowl to cool down.
  9. Once the octopus is done, rinse it again under cold water to cool it down faster. The colder it is, the easier it will be to remove the skin.
  10. If you don’t mind the skin, proceed into cutting the potatoes roughly the size of your thumb.
  11. Now cut the tentacles.
  12. Chop some fresh parsley (ideally flat leaf), then add it to the octopus & potatoes together with the salt, pepper and 3 generous tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
  13. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly.
  14. Once ready, sprinkle on top some sweet paprika, and serve! Buon appetito!

Notes

Storage: you can store it in the fridge in an airtight container for max 2 days.

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