Salada de polvo
A summer salad of Portuguese seaside taverns, served as a petisco, a snack with wine. It is tender boiled octopus cut into pieces and tossed with red onion, peppers, garlic and parsley, dressed with good olive oil and vinegar. Octopus is easy if you know two tricks: freezing helps to tenderise it, because ice crystals damage the tough fibres, and it is cooked until a knife slides into the thickest part of a tentacle without resistance.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Cooking the octopus 70 min
- Cooling 30 min
- Cutting 15 min
- Marinating 60 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneThaw the octopus
It is best to buy frozen octopus and thaw it overnight in the fridge. Freeze fresh octopus for at least a day — ice crystals damage the tough fibres, so the cooked octopus is more tender.
Ingredients: 1200 g octopus, thawed · 1 pcs onion · 2 pcs bay leaves · 3000 ml water
Dip the octopus three times
Bring a large pot of water to the boil with the onion and bay leaves, unsalted (this takes about 10 minutes). Holding the octopus by the head, dip it into the boiling water for a few seconds and lift it out — three times. The tentacles curl neatly and the skin holds on better during cooking.
Ingredients: 1200 g octopus, thawed · 1 pcs onion · 2 pcs bay leaves · 3000 ml water
Three quick dips — the tentacles curl.Cook until tender
Lower the octopus into the pot and simmer 45–60 minutes, depending on size. Do not salt the water — the octopus releases plenty of salty juices into it. It is done when a knife pushed into the thickest part of a tentacle goes in like butter.
Ingredients: 1200 g octopus, thawed · 1 pcs onion · 2 pcs bay leaves · 3000 ml water
The knife slides in like butter — done.Cool in the broth
Take the pot off the heat and leave the octopus in the broth 30 minutes. Cooled in its liquid, it does not dry out and stays juicy.
Ingredients: 1200 g octopus, thawed · 1 pcs onion · 2 pcs bay leaves · 3000 ml water
Cut up the octopus
Lift out the octopus, cut the tentacles from the head and slice them into 1.5 cm pieces. Slice the head too — it is edible. Keep the skin and suckers, which give colour and flavour.
Ingredients: 1200 g octopus, thawed · 1 pcs onion · 2 pcs bay leaves · 3000 ml water
1.5 cm pieces — the skin stays.Prepare the vegetables
Slice the red onion into thin half-moons, dice the peppers finely, chop the garlic and the parsley.
Ingredients: 1 pcs red onion · 2 pcs green and red pepper · 2 cloves garlic · ½ bunch parsley or coriander · 80 ml extra virgin olive oil · 3 tbsp white wine vinegar · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Toss with oil and vinegar
Combine the octopus with the vegetables, pour over the oil and vinegar, season with salt and pepper and toss. Taste — the salad should be distinctly vinegary and fragrant with oil.
Ingredients: 1 pcs red onion · 2 pcs green and red pepper · 2 cloves garlic · ½ bunch parsley or coriander · 80 ml extra virgin olive oil · 3 tbsp white wine vinegar · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Marinate an hour in the fridge
Cover and put the salad in the fridge for an hour so the octopus takes on the dressing. Take it out of the fridge 15 minutes before serving, as cold oil thickens and loses aroma. Serve with bread.
Ingredients: 1 pcs red onion · 2 pcs green and red pepper · 2 cloves garlic · ½ bunch parsley or coriander · 80 ml extra virgin olive oil · 3 tbsp white wine vinegar · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Before you start
Octopus size
Octopuses of 1–2 kg are best. Small ones are delicate but easy to overcook; very large ones can take an hour and a half.
The broth
The octopus cooking liquid is intense and salty from the meat itself. Frozen, it makes an excellent base for risotto or seafood rice.
Storage
The salad keeps 2 days in the fridge. Octopus is seafood, so do not leave it out of the fridge for more than 2 hours.
