Octopus Salad (Ensalada de Pulpo) Recipe

Name: Octopus Salad (Ensalada de Pulpo)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 135 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: One 2 pound octopus, cleaned; Salt; Several large sprigs of fresh oregano; Several large sprigs of fresh parsley; Several sprigs of fresh cilantro; 1 cup seeded, chopped cucumber (peeled if the peels are thick and bitter, otherwise leave them on); 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion; 3 green onions, sliced, including some of the darker green ends; 1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and minced (test for heat, if really hot, only use a small amount); 1/2 cup (loose) chopped fresh cilantro, including tender stems; 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano; 2 Tbsp lime juice; 2 Tbsp cider vinegar; 1/4 cup olive oil; 2 cups chopped, seeded tomatoes

Have you ever tried octopus? It tastes a lot like calamari, just meatier, which makes sense given that octopus is sort of like a giant squid.

One of my favorite dishes in the whole world is Mexican octopus salad, or "ensalada de pulpo", with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, cilantro, and chiles. It's fabulous as a side or topped over tacos or tostadas.

Ensalada de pulpo is often made like a ceviche, the octopus "cooked" in an acidic marinade, without heat. For this recipe we are taking a different approach using a technique taught to me by Hank Shaw, who cooks and eats a lot of octopi.

We are cooking the octopus, blanching it first, then slow cooking it in its own juices over a bed of aromatic herbs. The slow cooking without added liquid concentrates the octopus' flavor, while the octopus absorbs rich flavor from the herbs.

The slow cooking also helps cook the octopus so that the meat is tender (just a little chewy, like lobster), not tough. Then we chop the meat, and toss it with the other salad ingredients and a lime juice, cider vinegar, olive oil marinade, and chill it for several hours.

Octopus Salad (Ensalada de Pulpo)

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 2 hrs

Total Time 2 hrs 15 mins

Servings 4 servings

If you are using frozen octopus, unwrap it and place it in a large rectangular dish filled with cold water to defrost.

If you buy a frozen octopus, it has already been cleaned. If you have an octopus fresh from the sea, there are a few steps you need to take to get it ready to cook, i.e. removing the beak, the eyes, and the ink sac. See this video or this blog post for good explanations on how to do that.

2 pounds octopus, cleaned
Salt
Several large sprigs of fresh oregano
Several large sprigs of fresh parsley
Several sprigs of fresh cilantro
1 cup seeded, chopped cucumber (peeled if the peels are thick and bitter, otherwise leave them on)
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
3 green onions, sliced, including some of the darker green ends
1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and minced (test for heat, if really hot, only use a small amount)
1/2 cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro, including tender stems
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups chopped, seeded tomatoes

Boil the octopus in salted water:

Heat a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place the raw octopus in the boiling water, return the water to a boil, and boil for 2 minutes. Then remove the octopus from the pot and place to cool on a sheet pan. Discard the cooking water.

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer
Cut the octopus into large pieces:

discard anything that doesn't look like meat (innards, beak, etc.) that somehow slipped by the cleaning process. Place the pieces of the octopus on the bed of herbs.

Elise Bauer
Bake:

Prepare a bed of herbs (parsley, cilantro, fresh oregano) in a small Dutch oven or covered casserole. Place the octopus pieces on top of the herbs, cover and bake in a 250°F (120°C) oven for 1 3/4 hours, until tender (adjust cooking time for smaller or larger octopi).

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer
Prep the baked octopus pieces:

Remove the pieces of octopus to a sheet pan to cool. When cool to touch, pull off any gelatinous bits that surround the pieces of the octopus that you don't want to eat. (It's a texture thing. If you don't mind the texture, don't worry about it, it tastes good.)

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer

You may also notice small round pieces of meat that sort of look like eyeballs. They're not eyeballs, but pieces from the octopus' suction cups on the tentacles. They taste good too, just like the rest of the octopus.

Cut the meat into 1/2-inch pieces. You should have close to 2 cups of chopped octopus meat.

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer
Combine with remaining ingredients (except tomato) and chill:

Place the chopped octopus into a large, non-reactive bowl. Add the cucumbers, red onion, scallions, cilantro, dried oregano, and jalapeño. Add the lime juice, cider vinegar, olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, and stir to combine. Cover and chill for 2 hours or overnight.
To serve, stir in the chopped tomatoes.

Links:

Greek Octopus, from My Little Expat Kitchen

How to Clean Octopus, YouTube video

Octopus Demystified, from The Splendid Table

Greek Style Grilled Octopus, from Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

Japanese Octopus Salad, from Just One Cookbook

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
535	Calories
19g	Fat
20g	Carbs
70g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories	535
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g	24%
Saturated Fat 3g	15%
Cholesterol 218mg	73%
Sodium 1201mg	52%
Total Carbohydrate 20g	7%
Dietary Fiber 3g	9%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 70g
Vitamin C 47mg	233%
Calcium 285mg	22%
Iron 23mg	126%
Potassium 1825mg	39%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.