Octopus salad

• Start by washing the octopus under running water. With the help of a knife, make an incision around the eyes to remove them. Remove the beak as well. If the octopus is fresh, hit it with a small hammer or with a meat mallet, to soften it. Wash it again and pull out the entrails, then carefully wash the octopus the inside.
• Peel the carrot and the celery, then cut them to pieces.
• Fill a pot with water and put it on the fire. Ddd the carrot, the celery, a garlic clove, the bay leaves, some pepper and salt.
• As soon as the water boils, immerse the tip of the tentacles 4 or 5 times to curl them. Eventually, soak the whole octopus in the water. Cook on low heat for 40-45 minutes, covering the pot with a lid.
• Once cooked, let the octopus cool by leaving it in the same cooking water, to keep it soft.
• Cut the octopus in pieces.
• Prepare an emulsion by pouring in a jar some parsley, lime juice, oil, salt and pepper. Close the jar and stir.
• Pour the emulsion on the octopus and serve.

THE CHEF'S TIP: in order to skin the octopus after cooking, put it under a trickle of running water. With the help of a knife, the skin will slide away easily.

The octopus is one of the most appreciated fishery products. It represents a delicacy of the Mediterranean cuisine, beside being an incredible source of high quality proteins. Moreover, the octopus is hypocaloric and rich in vitamins and mineral salts, such as iron, calcium, phosphorus and potassium. For its nutritional composition, the octopus is highly recommended to anyone following a hypocaloric diet, but also to the ones suffering of dyslipidemia, anemia and iron deficiency and to those willing to increment their daily protein amount.