Octopus Salad
Tender octopus with potato, olives, and lemon.
Ingredients
- 800 g Octopus
- 3 Potatoes
- 60 g Kalamata olives
- ½ Onion
- 5 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 Lemon (optional)
- 4 tbsp Parsley (optional)
Method
- Simmer the octopus gently in salted water until a knife slips easily into the thickest part, about 50 minutes. Lift out, cool, and chop into bite-size pieces.
- While the octopus simmers, boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, then drain, cool, and cut into cubes.
- Thinly slice the onion.
- Toss the octopus, potatoes, olives, and onion with the lemon, olive oil, parsley, and salt.
- Serve at room temperature.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Octopus Salad
Octopus Salad is a Mediterranean staple found in various forms all around the sea's coast, from Greek tavernas to Italian trattorias, wherever octopus is pulled fresh from the water. This version keeps to the honest, sunlit style: tender poached octopus tossed with boiled potato, briny Kalamata olives, thinly sliced onion, parsley, and a dressing of lemon and good olive oil. It is a dish that lives on quality and simplicity rather than elaboration, letting the octopus itself be the star.
When done right, the octopus is meltingly tender with a slight resilient bite, its mild sweetness set against the sharp lemon, salty olives, and grassy olive oil, while the potatoes soak up the dressing and add substance. It is bright, clean, and refreshing rather than heavy. Traditionally it is served at room temperature as a starter or a light lunch, ideally with a chilled white wine and some bread to mop the plate. The one thing that makes or breaks it is patience with the octopus: simmering it gently until a knife slips easily into the thickest part, around fifty minutes, so it turns tender instead of rubbery.
Octopus Salad: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Octopus Salad?
A serving has about 381 calories — 27.7g protein, 23.3g carbs, 20.7g fat, 3.4g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 27.7g of protein, roughly 29% of its calories.
Is Octopus Salad gluten-free?
Based on its ingredients, Octopus Salad has no gluten-containing components, so it's naturally gluten-free — as always, check that any packaged ingredients you use are certified gluten-free to be safe.
How long does Octopus Salad take to make?
About 70 minutes start to finish, but only around 9 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Octopus Salad?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out lemon, parsley — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Octopus Salad make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.