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.
Octopus Salad
Crispy octopus with many many fresh veggies, comforting potatoes and sweet mango. All packed up into one super delicius bowl!
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
-
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.
-
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.
-
Bring another pot with water to a boil and steam the green beans and peas for about 4-5 minutes.
-
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
