Octopus Salad, or Insalata di Polipi: While we're on the subject of octopus, here's a Calabrian recipe for octopus salad that will be a nice antipasto.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) octopus -- ideally small octopus
- 2 cups (1/2 l) strong red wine vinegar
- 2 cups (1/2 l) water
- Olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons parsley, minced
- Salt & freshly ground pepper
Preparation:
Clean the octopus, and put them in a pot with the vinegar and the water. Salt the pot, bring it to a boil, cover it, and simmer the octopus until it's fork tender.Drain the octopus, trim the suckers (which are unpleasantly rubbery) from the tentacles, and dice the octopus, putting the pieces in a bowl (terracotta will look nice here). Season them with the minced herbs, salt and pepper to taste, abundant olive oil, and serve.
A note: this salad will keep for several days if you seal it in a glass jar.
