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Summer Vegetable Soup, Genuine Clams, and Octopus

17/11/2023

The summer vegetable soup with genuine clams and octopus is a dish that combines flavors of the sea and land, creating a tasty and nutritious balance. Here’s how to prepare it, following an Italian style.

Ingredients

  • 400 g of cleaned octopus
  • 500 g of genuine clams
  • 1 zucchini
  • 1 bell pepper
  • 150 g of green beans
  • 2 ripe tomatoes
  • 1 onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • Fresh parsley to taste
  • A bunch of basil
  • A sprig of thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt to taste
  • Black pepper to taste
  • Extra virgin olive oil to taste
  • Fish or vegetable broth to taste

Preparation

  1. Start by preparing the octopus. Place it in a pot of cold water with the sprig of thyme and bay leaf, then bring to a boil. It should cook for about 40 minutes or until tender. Once cooked, turn off the heat and let it cool in the cooking water to maintain tenderness.

  2. In the meantime, clean the vegetables. Wash the zucchini, tomatoes, bell pepper, and green beans. Dice the zucchini and bell pepper, cut the green beans into pieces, and peel and chop the tomatoes after blanching them.

  3. In a saucepan, lightly sauté the chopped onion and garlic cloves with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. As soon as the onion becomes translucent, add the chopped vegetables.

  4. Let the vegetables flavor for a few minutes, then pour over the fish or vegetable broth until the vegetables are covered. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables are tender, then adjust for salt and pepper.

  5. While the vegetables are cooking, take care of the clams. Rinse them under running water and place them in a pan with a drizzle of oil and a garlic clove, cover, and let them open over high heat.

  6. Once opened, shell most of the clams, saving some with the shell for the final dish decoration.

  7. Take the octopus, which will have cooled by now, and cut it into pieces or slices.

  8. Add the octopus and shelled clams to the saucepan with the vegetables and let everything flavor for a few minutes.

  9. Adjust for salt and pepper if necessary, and just before turning off the heat, add the chopped fresh parsley and basil.

Serve the summer vegetable soup with genuine clams and octopus in generous bowls, decorated with the clams in the shell you set aside and a raw drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. If you wish, you can accompany this delicious dish with toasted bread croutons.

Curiosity

The octopus is a highly appreciated ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine, not only for its delicate flavor but also for its nutritional properties. In this recipe, the softness of the octopus perfectly matches the freshness of summer vegetables and the intensity of the clams, creating a balanced dish, perfect for summer evenings.

Summer Vegetable Soup, Genuine Clams, and Octopus