Polpo e patate (octopus and potato salad) - Liguria
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Of all the seafood salads, my favourite is octopus and potato. It is very simple and costs little to make but is meaty and delicious. In Liguria, we eat this salad quite a lot. Locals swear by boiling the octopus with a wine cork to tenderise the meat (as opposed to beating the poor creature over rocks). I have to say it works a trick for me.
Author: Woo Wei-Duan
Recipe type: Starter (Antipasto)
Cuisine: Liguria
Serves: 8 to 10
Ingredients
- 1 kilo octopus with short tentacles (frozen is fine)
- 5 grams flat leaf parsley, rinsed, dried, leaves removed and finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 10 black olives, pitted
- 500 grams waxy potatoes, skinned and cut into 1.5 cm dice
- ½ lemon, juiced
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 wine cork
- Sea salt
Instructions
- Cut out the eyes and make an incision to open the sac and clean it out. Turn the octopus upside down to find the mouth. Cut in a circle to remove the beak. Rinse the octopus, making sure to rub out any grit in the suction cups. Fill a large pot with water. Add the octopus and the wine cork.
- Bring it to a boil. After 20 minutes, add the potatoes.
- Boil for another 20 minutes. Remove the octopus and drain the potatoes.
- When the octopus is cool enough to handle, cut it into 1.5 cm pieces.
- Mix the potatoes, octopus, parsley, garlic, olives, lemon juice together, adding olive oil to coat and salt to taste.
- Serve tepid or cold.
