Name: Insalata di polpo (Octopus salad)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2 garlic cloves; 1 chopped fresh red chilli; 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil; 125 ml (½ cup) white wine vinegar; a few whole, black peppercorns; about 3.5 litres (14 cups) water; 1 celery stalk, trimmed; 1 carrot, peeled; 1 onion, peeled; 1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz) octopus; juice of 1 lemon; a handful of fresh parsley

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Twelve

By Tessa Kiros

Published 2003

About

This antipasto dish can be prepared up to 24 hours ahead of time. If you’ve never made a dish with fresh octopus, this is an easy introduction.

Ingredients

1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz) octopus

Method

If your fishmonger has not already cleaned the octopus, cut a slit through the head part. Open it out flat and remove the innards and eyes, and the beak part. Rinse.

Put the celery, carrot, onion and peppercorns into a large saucepan. Cover with the water and vinegar. Season with salt and bring to the boil. Add the whole, cleaned octopus. Skim the surface with a slotted spoon to remove