
Let’s go to make an “easy” fish & vegetable salad, using only Prawn and Octopus (you could add Clams, Shells and other seafood and fish if you like) just to show you the basic; eat this salad with bread as appetizer.
Further details in categories “Preparations – Cleaning Octopus” and “Preparations-Garlic & Parsley Mix” and in category “Recipes – Main Course – Fish – Octopus & Potatoes”
in the following pictures I use frozen Octopus and frozen Prawn and the result was excellent but remember if you use fresh fish the result will be “sublime”!
ingredients: (6-8 portions)
two pounds (one kilo) of Octopus
two pounds (one kilo) of Prawn or Shrimps
three-four spoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
two spoons of Garlic & Parsley mix
Marine Salt – two-three Potatoes (one pound)
various Vegetable pickles under Vinegar: small onions, cucumbers, carrots, celery, turnip, cauliflower, pepper-bells, green & black olives, capers.
following the instruction in category “Preparations” and “Recipes” clean and boil properly the Octopus
remember: only after the Octopus is cooked you have to add the Marine Salt …
…and leave to rest five minutes more without fire…
then it will be ready! take from the water and put apart to cool down.
I bought two pounds of frozen Prawn, half boiled without head, in short those you’ll find at the fishery, not every day you can get fresh fish!
I peel off the skin
doing an incision on the back: in order to check if there is still residual of the intestine or sand inside, then I wash in running fresh water
even if this frozen Prawn are a very good quality, they still need a bit of salt and it is my attitude boil them just for 1 minute before to use in my preparations: I use only an inch of water and half spoon of Marine Salt
as the water boils drop all the Prawn down, stir quickly…
…leave one minute only!
then immediately in the colander: one minute more in the boiling water will ruin your Prawn!
all pickled I use:
under Vinegar or Oil:
3 and half ounces each of: carrots, celery, turnip, cauliflower & capers
9 ounces each of: small onions, cucumbers, pepper-bells, green olives & black olives
let’s go to peel the Potatoes
as they are clean
prepare a small quantity of water with half spoon of Marine Salt
boil the potatoes
meanwhile the Potatoes are boiling, drop the pickled Vegetables in the colander: vinegar and oil (eventually water and salt) ware discarded
chop the black Olives
cut the Pepper-Bells
and all the Vegetables in smaller pieces
collect them in to a bowl
check the Potatoes: if ready…
take from the water and…
cut in small cubes
the Octopus is cold now: cut it in small cubes: start cutting in the middle…
separate each leg
slice the legs and cut the heads
add the Octopus to the Vegetables: usually I start to mix Octopus with the Pepper Bells and Black Olives only: I will add the other Vegetables later on,
add the Potatoes, the Garlic & Parsley Mix and two-three spoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
mix everything: remember to check if more Marine Salt is needed!
add all the remaining Vegetables now!
mix well….
…and your tasty Appetizer is ready to go!