Warm salad with potatoes and octopus
4 servings
30 minutes
Warm salad with potatoes and octopus is a gastronomic embodiment of Mediterranean culinary art, combining sophistication and simplicity. The dish's origins trace back to Italian coastal regions where fresh seafood is an integral part of the diet. The tender tentacle of octopus infused with the aromas of white wine and vegetables harmoniously pairs with young potatoes that have a soft texture. Dried and fresh tomatoes provide a balance of sweetness and acidity, while capers and arugula add zest. The finishing touch is rich olive oil that permeates all ingredients, making them a unified ensemble of flavors. This salad is best served immediately after preparation when the warmth of the ingredients reveals their aromas, creating the perfect atmosphere for leisurely enjoyment of the meal.
1
If there is no cooked octopus at hand, you need to prepare it. Cut half of a large carrot and an onion into large half-rings, a whole celery stalk into large pieces (set the leaves aside for salad decoration), and cut one lemon into eight pieces.
- Carrot: 0.5 piece
- Onion: 1 head
- Celery stalk with leaves: 1.5 piece
- Lemon: 2 pieces
2
Fill the largest pot in the house with water (not completely: leave room for the octopus) and place it on the heat. When the water boils, add four to five wine corks, add sliced vegetables with lemon, and a good handful of salt. Pour in the wine.
- Salt: to taste
- Dry white wine: 50 ml
3
Thoroughly wash the octopus, then ceremoniously drop it into boiling water and cook for three and a half to four hours until it becomes soft enough. Cut off the tentacles from the cooked and cooled octopus. One tentacle is needed for one serving of salad, so one octopus can make eight servings. A little broth should be left.
- Octopus tentacle: 1 piece
- Dry white wine: 50 ml
4
Pour water into a small pot, place it on the fire, add salt, three bay leaves, and a dozen and a half small young potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for five minutes: the potatoes should not be overcooked. Remove the cooked potatoes from the pot and transfer them to a plate to cool. Cut half a stalk of celery diagonally into small pieces. Then peel the cooled potatoes.
- Bay leaf: 3 pieces
- New potatoes: 15 pieces
- Celery stalk with leaves: 1.5 piece
5
Pour a tablespoon of olive oil into a heated saucepan and add the squid. Add olives and celery. Then add the potatoes and five sun-dried tomatoes. Tear and add the leaves from two sprigs of parsley, season with salt, squeeze half a lemon, add garlic, and cook for two to three minutes, stirring the contents.
- Olive oil: 2 tablespoons
- Octopus tentacle: 1 piece
- Olive: 4 pieces
- Celery stalk with leaves: 1.5 piece
- New potatoes: 15 pieces
- Sun-dried tomatoes: 5 piece
- Parsley: 2 stems
- Salt: to taste
- Lemon: 2 pieces
- Garlic: 2 cloves
6
Add another tablespoon of oil, a couple of tablespoons of octopus broth, and squeeze the second half of the lemon. Stir, remove from heat, add four halved cherry tomatoes, and stir again to soak them in the juices and aromas.
- Olive oil: 2 tablespoons
- Dry white wine: 50 ml
- Lemon: 2 pieces
- Cherry tomatoes: 4 pieces
7
First, place the tentacle coiled almost in a circle on the plate. Gradually add potatoes, tomatoes, and the rest of the contents from the pan in the center.
8
Place a small bunch of arugula in an empty saucepan, mix, and arrange the oiled leaves on the salad. Garnish with large capers, basil, and celery leaves, season with pepper, and drizzle with the remaining oil in the saucepan. Serve immediately — while the salad is still warm.
- Arugula: 15 g
- Capers: 4 pieces
- Basil leaves: 4 pieces
- Celery stalk with leaves: 1.5 piece
- Ground black pepper: to taste
- Olive oil: 2 tablespoons