Octopus 101 - Mediterranean Chopped Salad

Chef Dominick Maietta

Octopus is one of my all-time favorite foods - I love the flavor but, more than that, it has special meaning for me. Octopus is my wife, Molly, and I’s go-to whenever we see it on a restaurant menu. Molly loves it as much as I do and I even cooked it for her at home for a surprise birthday dinner. I first learned how to cook octopus back in 2003 when I was working at a Spanish restaurant in New Haven, Connecticut, called Ibiza Restaurant. It was there I met my mentor Luis Bollo who was originally from San Sebastian, Spain. With his deep Spanish roots, he taught me everything he knew on how to prepare octopus as they would in Spain.

This special sea creature can seem intimidating to cook but with the right instructions and ingredients you will breeze right through.

2 Step Cooking Process:

Cooking Time: 60 mins

Yield: 2 to 3 pounds (4 servings)

The Poaching Process:

1. Prepare a Mirepoix, for poaching liquid

   • 1  ea. leek, 2 ea. yellow onion, 1 ea. fennel, 1 ea. lemon, 6 stems of parsley, 1 ea. bay leaf, and 15 ea. black peppercorn.

   • Kitchen Tip: Save the stems and fronds of the fennel for the salad part of making the dish.

2. In a large stockpot, fill 1 gallon of cold water, add the mirepoix kit, and kosher or sea salt to the water.

3. Bring to the poaching liquid to a boil and then leave on a simmer for about 1 hour to infuse the liquid with the vegetables. 

4. After the poaching liquid simmers for 1 hour, pick up the Octopus with a pair of tongs, gently dunk the octopus up and down in the hot water 4 times, then gently place in the whole octopus in the poaching liquid. 

   • Kitchen Tip: Dunking the octopus up and down in the poaching liquid will help the tentacles stay straight during the poaching process. 

5. Cook the octopus for 60 mins or till tenderly cooked.

   • Kitchen Tip: The true test for doneness is: When a pairing knife inserted where the head meets the legs slides easily, it’s done! 

6. Once the octopus has reached its doneness, pull from the water and place of a sheet tray.

7. Place into the fridge to cool down.

8. Once the octopus is cooled down, separate the tentacles with a chef knife or you can leave whole for a more dramatic show when platting. 

The Grilling Process:

1. Turn on your barbecue and warm up the grill grates for about 15-20 mins prior to cooking on the grill.

   • Kitchen Tip: Make sure to warm up the grill properly, otherwise the octopus will stick to the grill grates. You may also use a non-stick oil spray for grills to prevent it from sticking.

2. Take your separated tentacles or whole octopus and place in a bowl, toss with olive oil, salt, and fresh cracked black peppercorn. 

3. Once your barbecue has been warmed up, add your seasoned octopus to the grill with the tentacle side down.

4. When one side of the octopus has a nice grill crust, you can then flip and grill the other side. 

5. Remove the octopus from the grill and place it on a cutting board. 

6. Cut the tentacles into 2 inch long pieces.

   • Kitchen Tip: During dinner parties, you can toothpicks served with boiled potatoes, dust with some paprika, drizzle with olive oil and add some sea salt flakes

I love serving grilled Octopus with a Mediterranean chopped salad. It is a dish that will definitely wow your guest(s) and is simple yet flavorful.

Steps

1. Wash all vegetables and garbanzo beans

2. Cut fennel bulb (save stem and fronds for step ), red onion, cucumber into 1/4 inch dices.

3. Cut cherry tomatoes into ¼ 

4. Mix garbanzo and vegetables in a bowl. 

5. Zest and Juice 1 whole lemon. 

6. Drizzle your E.V.O.O and Balsamic

7. Thinly slice the fennel stems and pick the fennel fronds, add to the mixing bowl. 

8. Chop parsley and add salt and pepper to taste

9. Mix all ingredients together
   

Ingredients

14.5 oz garbanzo bean (poached in a can is perfect)

1 fennel bulb

1 red onion

1 whole lemon

1 English cucumber

1-pint cherry tomato

1/2 bunch parsley leaves

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil -E.V.O.O.

1/8 cup of Aged Balsamic Vinegar from Modena

Sea salt to taste

Fresh cracked black peppercorn to taste

Tips and things to beware of when making this dish:

• When shopping for an octopus at Whole Foods or your local fishmonger, you will find either a fresh or frozen octopus. Note: all frozen octopus is pre-cleaned, and if you are buying fresh ask your fishmonger to clean it for you. 

• Mediterranean chopped salad can be served with any protein or just as a plant based dinner option. 

• Do not over-salt your poaching liquid, you want it to taste like seawater. 

• Fun Fact:  Fishmongers nowadays use a front-side Maytag washing machine (without water of course!) and add golf balls or baseballs to the washer, to help tenderize the octopus.