This Octopus with Chimichurri recipe makes cooking octopus at home easy and quite approachable. Often people ignore this beautiful piece of seafood as they are not sure how to deal with it. However I can guarantee it is much easier than you thought. This recipe creates a delicious dish perfect for the warm weather which works well as a tapas style dish or an entree if you serve it on a bed of lettuce.
Preparation Time: 20 minutes / Cooking Time: 45 minutes / Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- 1kg uncooked octopus
- 2-3L water
- 50-100g salt
- 1 lemon, cut in half
- 1 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 red chilli, finely diced
- 1 tsp (5g) fresh oregano, finely chopped
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
- 2 tbsp (20ml) red wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp (60ml) olive oil
Method
- Place the water in a saucepan and add enough salt so that it is rather salty and tastes like the sea.
- Place the octopus and lemon into the saucepan and put a small heatproof plate on top to keep the octopus submerged.
- Simmer the octopus for 45 minutes.
- While the octopus is cooking, mix together the parsley, chilli, oregano, shallot, garlic, red wine vinegar and olive oil to form the chimichurri.
- Remove from the heat and discard the water.
- Run the octopus under cold water, rubbing lightly to remove the skin and excess salt.
- Cut the octopus into 4-5cm thick slices and drizzle with a few tablespoons of the chimichurri (you won’t need it all)
- Serve immediately.
Notes
You will end up making more chimichurri than you will need, this is because proportionally it’s a pain making a smaller portion. With the excess, I would recommend using it on steak, chicken or a dressing for a salad.