Octopus Salad

Octopus Salad

Ingredients

2½ cups Octopus, cooked, cleaned, and cut into ¾ inch pieces

1 cup sweet Vidalia Onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped

¼ teaspoon red crushed pepper

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

6 tablespoons red wine vinegar

¼ cup pure olive oil

juice of 1 large lemon

Step-by-Step 

1  defrost octopus in large sink filled with cold water( will take several hours)

2  fill large stockpot with water; bring to rolling boil over high heat

3  carefully add defrosted Octopus to boiling water by holding the head firmly while lowering the legs in and out of the boiling water 3 times allowing the legs to shrink and curl; release and submerge octopus in water; return to boil

4 boil octopus 1 1/2- 2 hours or until fork tender; using long kitchen tongs, remove from water; cool 10 minutes in large colander

5  clean by removing lose skin, eyes, and center core; and cut legs and cleaned head into 3/4 inch bite size pieces

6  place cooked, cleaned, and cut octopus in mixing bowl, add onions; mix; reserve

7 in separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients; whisk well; pour over reserved octopus and onions; mix well

8 transfer to airtight container; refrigerate minimum 24 hours (I prefer to marinate several days); remove from refrigerator 1 hours before serving

Notes~

(1) Do not be fooled by the size of the uncooked octopus, as shown in the photos they cook down in size considerably

(2) I usually cook two or three 4-5lb frozen octopus which yields the amount shown in the first photo