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Mediterranean

Octopus Salad

Juli 13, 2020 by katharina.kuehr Kommentar verfassen

A super tasty summer salad. It’s not like your boring greens with olive oil and vinegar. No, it is so much more. Packed with tons of different things, crispy octopus, conch veggies, sweet mango and a super fresh dressing! That’s all we need for a (rather) quick summer lunch.

We always go to Italy for our summer holidays. Every single year. And when we are at the sea we eat a bunch of sea food. (I mean if not there, where else would you have it?). I have eaten pretty much all sea food there and absolutely love it. Except for octopus. I just wasn’t quite mine or what I loved. And then came quarantine. And we wanted to cook as many different dishes as possible (I think the first 4 or 5 weeks we did not make anything twice!). So every weekend we would go to a market close to us and get some good fish. And so, once I saw that Octopus and I just though like: alright, why not trying it out again, maybe I can make it taste good and so I got it. And that was a really good decision because this turned out to be such a delicious dish!

Is octopus healthy?

It actually is super healthy. Just like most sea foods, octopus has a pretty low fat content. Therefore it is not very high in calories. But, it is really high in protein. A 100g serving almost has 30g of protein which is quite a lot. Plus it also is pretty high in iron, selenium and Vitamin B12. So all in all pretty healthy.

Octopus Salad

Octopus is mainly eaten in asian cuisines like Japanese. Also, Mediterranean countries use it a lot in cooking. You can find it very often in the south of Italy, Portugal, Spain and Croatia. Another part in the world where it is pretty common to have it is Hawaii. There it often is served in poke bowls (which I also have a recipe on the blog). Octopus salad though, is often served in Italy. There a lot of times it is prepared with celery, tomatoes and parsley.

Octopus Salad à la Une Petite Cuisinière

While I got my inspiration from the rather „traditional“ salad I kind of changed it up completely. And it turned out pretty bomb. Why? I personally find that it is a bit boring with so little ingredients. Also, I love to eat the rainbow and combine as many flavours as possible. And there probably is not easier way to eat the rainbow than in a salad.

So we are using some basic greens as a base. I love to use a mix of baby spinach and lambs lettuce (Vogerlsalat) but any sort of greens works fine. To make it more filling we also add some potatoes. Those are just steamed in some water. I like best to use baby potatoes because you can eat them with skin but if you can’t find those, just use regular ones.

As for veggies we love using some green beans. Cut them up before steaming and then add them to a pot along with the peas or edamame. For some freshness and crunch we also add some bell pepper, tomatoes, radishes, cucumber and spring onions. And last but not least we are having some mango. This sweetens it up a little and makes it so incredibly tasty.

As for veggies we love using some green beans. Cut them up before steaming and then add them to a pot along with the peas or edamame. For some freshness and crunch we also add some bell pepper, tomatoes, radishes, cucumber and spring onions. And last but not least we are having some mango. This sweetens it up a little and makes it so incredibly tasty.

The dressing also is really simple. It is just olive oil, lemon juice, honey and a little vinegar. Super simple. But honestly, you do not need more because the salad already is really rich in flavour.

When to best enjoy it

I love this, for both lunch and dinner. It is not hard to make, comes together pretty quickly and does not sit super heavy in your stomach. Also, this works really well as meal prep. You can already add the dressing beforehand and just store it in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. It also is super nice to take this on a picnic and enjoy in the sun!

I hope that you will enjoy this recipe and make it on repeat this summer.

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Octopus Salad

Crispy octopus with many many fresh veggies, comforting potatoes and sweet mango. All packed up into one super delicius bowl!

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course
Prep Time 20 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 30 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 338 kcal

What you will need

  • 500 g octopus about 4-5 tentacles
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 red chili optional
  • 250 g potatoes I prefer using baby potatoes
  • 1 bell pepper
  • 1 cucumber
  • 1 mango
  • 4 spring onion
  • 150 g green beans
  • 100 g peas or edamame
  • 100 g cherry tomatoes
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 lemon juiced
  • 1 tbsp vinegar
  • 2 tsp honey

How to

  1. Add the baby potatoes to a pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 20 minutes. Then drain them. If you are using larger potatoes you may need to cook them longer and need to peel them after cooking.

    Slice the octopus into slices, each about 0,5-1 cm thick. Heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil. FInely slice the garlic cloves and chili and add to the hot oil. Sauté for about 30 seconds. Add the octopus in it and pan fry for about 5 minutes on medium high. Then reduce the heat to low and let it kind of simmer a bit for 5 minutes.

  2. I the meantime chop up all of the veggies. Cut the cucumber into thin cubes just as the bell pepper. Half the cherry tomatoes and cut the spring onions into thin slices. Peel the mango and chop it up smaller. Cut the green ebans into bite sized pieces.

  3. Bring another pot with water to a boil and steam the green beans and peas for about 4-5 minutes.

  4. When the potatoes have cooled a little bit, cut them up into slices or cubes. Add all of the ingredients to a bowl. In a seperate one combine the remaining olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar and honey. Generously salt and pepper the salad and toss in the dressing. Serve and enjoy!

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

Kategorie: Cuisine, Fish & Seafood, Lunch/ Dinner, Mediterranean, Salad Stichworte: easy salad, family food, healthy, healthy food, healthy recipe, Mediterranean, octopus, picnic recipes, quick healthy, quick lunch, salad, sea food, summer food, summer salad

Creamy Basil Feta Pasta

Juli 6, 2020 by katharina.kuehr Kommentar verfassen

Summer to me is lots of fresh herbs. Mint, basil, rosemary, parsley, all of the good things. No matter where. Whether it is in salads, as a garnish, on toast, in drinks, in pesto or in pasta. It is just a sign and part of summer. So fresh, so tasty. But, as good as pesto is, here we are gonna switch things up a little bit and make an extremely easy, 10 minute pasta dish! No, that’s not a typo, it actually only takes 10 minutes (maybe 15 max)!

What does summer mean to you? Laying at the beach, toasting barbecues and summer parties, going for a swim? To me it is lots of sun, good times and fresh food! Definitely! That is why I love herbs so much! I love how they add so much freshness to every single dish you add it in. Also they just add such a nice flavour!

Are herbs healthy?

Definitely! It honestly is very surprising to some! In most kitchens you will find some sort of herbs. Some prefer them in a fresh form to add them to dishes or as a garnish and some have them in their dried form. I personally prefer the dried form for seasoning because they are more intense in flavour but I always have fresh herbs on hand for garnish. Also they make pretty much everything look nice.

Back to the point. Herbs actually are super healthy. Their are extremely high in vitamins, minerals but also fibre. Some even have a decent amount of protein. The great thing about them is that it is so easy to add them to anything to give all of your meals an extra nutrient boost.

How to add more herbs to your diet

This part I believe is really easy. One of my favourite ways is to add it into salads. Like adding a little bit of mint and basil to your salad not only makes a great flavour but also adds a bunch of vitamins. Other ways are to stir is into sauces like into tomato sauce, into stir fries, here cilantro would work amazing, when marinating something or just make pesto out of it. All of these ways are super easy.

Is this sauce like pesto?

No, but also yes. So it is kind of similar but also different. What is pretty much the same is the strong basil flavour. But we are not using parmesan cheese and pine nuts and loads of olive oil. So basil as a base is same. Instead of parmesan cheese we are using feta. If you do not know, feta is a cheese made out of sheep’s milk. It originated in Greece and still is very popular these. It is a firm cheese but has a rather „light“ and fresh taste. So as said, it is a firm cheese but when you blend it up it becomes very creamy.

We still, also use a little bit of olive oil to add some flavour but not as much as in pesto. No nuts in here, which pesto does have. What is „new“ here, which is not usual in pesto is that we add some greek yoghurt. The greek yoghurt adds some creaminess and makes it really good.

How to make the sauce & substitutes

Well, that’s the easiest thing ever. Blend it all up, that’s it. First only the basil, which allows it to become very fine and smooth. Then we add the feta and lastly, some salt, olive oil and greek yoghurt. Also reserve some water from the boiling pasta and add it again when combining the pasta with the sauce. This really is key to making a super creamy sauce and to allow it to combine it well.

If you do not do feta, you can use cream cheese instead. I would recommend using one from goat though, because I believe that the flavour just goes in better harmony with the basil but regular one works too. If you do not have greek yoghurt on hand, you can use some regular yoghurt or half the amount and substitute it for cream cheese.

When to have it & meal prep

I LOVE this as a quick and easy lunch or dinner. It is perfect for a large number of people because it is super easy to make and very versatile. If you want, you can also add some grilled chicken or prawns on top, which also is really tasty.

I would not recommend it for meal prep just because I personally do not like reheated pasta and it only takes very little time anyway. If you do not mind reheated pasta, you can totally meal prep it. Or you just meal prep the sauce, this works really well.

I hope that you like this recipe and enjoy it all throughout summer !

Print

Creamy Basil Feta Pasta

A great summer pasta. Not like your pesto but much better. And easier. 10 minutes, 6 ingredients. Super good.

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Mediterranean
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 15 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 732 kcal

What you will need

  • 500 g spaghetti
  • 300 g feta
  • 100 g basil about 3-4 large handful
  • 100 g greek yogurt
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • some dried tomatoes

How to

  1. Bring a large pot with salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Before draining the pasta reserve one cup (about 200ml) of the pasta water.

  2. While the pasta is cooking add the basil to a food processor, until it is very finely chopped. Then add the feta and blend again until a creamy consitency is reached. Last add the olive oil, greek yoghurt and a pinch of salt. Add at least half of the reserved pasta water and blend again.

  3. After draining the pasta add it back to the pot along with the sauce. If it still is too thick and does not combine well, add some more pasta water.

  4. Divide onto the plates and garnish with extra feta, dried tomatoes and fresh basil.

    Enjoy!

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

Kategorie: Cuisine, Diet-Specific, Lunch/ Dinner, Mediterranean, Season, Summer, Vegetarian, Vegetarian Stichworte: 10minute, basil, cheese, family friendly, feta, herbs, pasta, summer food, summer pasta

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