Nona Flora’s Croatian Octopus Salad

Name: Nona Flora’s Croatian Octopus Salad
Yield: Feeds 4
Ingredients: 8 Kalamata olives, sliced; 8 black olives, sliced; 4 tbsp capers and their juice; 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 1 large or 2 small frozen Mediterranean octopus, gutted; olive oil; 2 plum tomatoes or 6-8 cherry tomatoes, chopped; 2 sprigs fresh thyme; 3 bay leaves; handful fresh parsley; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 small red onion, finely chopped; 2 wine corks (optional, added to the cooking water to encourage tenderisation, according to Flora); 2 tsp black peppercorns; 2 medium potatoes, peeled and halved; 1 small red onion, peeled only; balsamic or red wine vinegar; small handful fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped (also good with dill!)

Preparation info

Feeds
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Grand Dishes

By Iska Lupton

Published 2021

About

Ingredients

1 large or 2 small frozen Mediterranean octopus, gutted
1 small red onion, peeled only
3

Fish course
Pescatarian
Gluten-free

Method

Cooking octopus is simple, but if you aren’t careful the texture can end up a little rubbery, so make sure to freeze yours first and follow Flora’s instructions closely. Start by thawing the ‘octopussy’ in the fridge - Flora finished thawing hers in the sea.
Rinse off any grains of sand that might be left on the tentacles. Place the octopus in a large saucepan,