Octopus Salad

Insalata di polpo

Time: 50 min
Number of Servings: 4

Ingredients

• Octopus: 850 g
• Celery: 1 costa
• Salt fino: 4 g
• Garlic: 1 spicchio
• Laurel: 3 foglie
• Carrot: 150 g
• Pepper nero in grani: 6
• Parsley: 10 g
• Olio extravergine d'oliva: 30 g
• Pepe nero: 1 pizzico
• Lemon: 10 g

Preparation

Start with the octopus cleaning: rinse it under running water, transfer it to a clean and dry cloth and tamp it with kitchen paper. Put it on a cutting board and with a knife cut the bag at eye level to remove them; Also remove the beak, then drop the meat beating with a hammer or a meat tenderizer.
Rinse the octopus again under cold running water and remove the entrails from the bag and then carefully wash them inside; wash and rub with the head and tentacles to remove the patina covering them as much as possible.

Peel the carrot with a peeler, then cut it into coarse pieces together with celery.
Put a large pot with water on the stove; pour the vegetables, the bay leaves, the garlic and add the pepper and salt.

When the water has touched the boil, to curl the tips of the tentacles of the octopus, immerse the tentacles in the boiling water then let them re-emerge and continue this way for 4-5 times: in this way the aesthetics of the preparations will be more pleasant.
Then dip the octopus into the pan and cook over very low heat for 30-35 minutes (about 20 minutes for each 500 g of octopus), covering with a lid.

While cooking, with a skimmer you can remove the residues and the foam that are created on the surface from the cooking water. Before draining, skewer the meat with the tines of a fork to check the cooking.
When ready, drain it and place it in a bowl with water and ice to stop cooking.
Transfer it to a cutting board: with a knife separate the head from the tentacles, divide it in half, then cut the tentacles into small pieces, putting them in a small bowl.

Squeeze a lemon and finely chop the parsley. Add the lemon juice and chopped parsley to the octopus. Season with oil, season with salt and pepper, then mix together with a teaspoon.
Serve your parsley octopus salad in a serving dish garnished with lemon slices.