Octopus salad with parsley

To prepare the octopus salad with parsley, start with the  octopus: rinse it under running water 1, put it on a cutting board and eliminate the eyes using a knife 2, then remove the beak 3.

If the octopus is fresh, beat it with a hammer or a meat beater to soften the meat 4. Rinse the octopus again under cold running water 5 and take the entrails out of the bag and wash it thoroughly inside. Peel the carrot with a vegetable peeler, then cut it into coarse pieces 6.

Do the same with the celery stalk 7. Place a large saucepan with water over heat; pour in the cleaned carrot cut into pieces, the chopped celery stalk, garlic clove, bay leaves, and add pepper and salt 8. When the water has almost started to boil, to curl the tips of the tentacles of the octopus, dip them several times (4 or 5 will be enough) in boiling water 9.

Completely immerse the octopus in the pot 10 and cook over very low heat, with the lid on 11, for 40-45 minutes. While it cooks, remove the residue and the foam from the surface with a skimmer. At the end of cooking let the octopus cool down in the same water so it becomes soft. Then transfer it to the cutting board: with a knife separate the head from the tentacles and divide them in half 12.

Cut the tentacles into pieces of approximately 1/2 inch (1 cm) 13. Chop off the head and put it all into a bowl. To make the sauce: squeeze the lemon 14 to obtain 2 tsp (10 g) of juice, then wash, dab and finely chop the parsley 15.

Prepare the dressing by pouring parsley, lemon juice 16, oil 17, salt and pepper into a jar (to blend it more easily). Close 18 and mix.

Pour the dressing over the octopus 19, stir well 20 and serve your octopus salad with parsley 21!