Octopus and vegetables

Here’s a classic recipe for preparing octopus with vegetables, enriching the dish with an Italian touch in its preparation.

Ingredients

• 1 medium octopus (about 1-1.5 kg)
• 2 medium potatoes
• 2 carrots
• 1 zucchini
• 1 stick of celery
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 clove of garlic
• Fresh parsley to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Lemon juice (optional)

Preparation

1. Start by cleaning the octopus. You can ask your fishmonger to do it for you or, if you prefer to proceed on your own, remove the eyes and the central beak, and rinse well under cold running water.
2. In a large pot, bring water to a boil with a bay leaf. Once boiling, immerse the octopus and let it cook for about 40-60 minutes, depending on the size, until it is tender.
3. In the meantime, peel the potatoes and carrots and cut them into cubes of about 1 cm. Also cut the zucchini and celery into similar-sized cubes.
4. In another pot, steam or boil the vegetables until they are tender but still crunchy.
5. Once the octopus is cooked, drain it and let it cool, then cut it into pieces.
6. In a large skillet, heat a stream of extra virgin olive oil with a clove of garlic. Add the pieces of octopus and sauté for a few minutes until they are colored.
7. Add the vegetables to the octopus in the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and flavor everything together for a couple of minutes.
8. Serve the octopus and vegetables hot, garnished with chopped fresh parsley and a drizzle of raw oil. If you like, you can add a little lemon juice for acidity.

Curiosity

Octopus is a much-appreciated food in Italy, especially in coastal regions where it is caught fresh. A typical preparation, especially in regions such as Puglia, involves cooking the octopus in a pot with a little liquid and its own heat, in order to make the flesh particularly tender and flavorful.