Ideas for dinner? A’octopus salad: tasty, easy, in one bite it reminds you of summer and that’s a lot greet. Octopus is a source of noble proteins, which contain all the essential amino acids, is particularly poor in fat, like all molluscs, is rich in vitamins of groups B and D and, last but not least, in minerals. After all, we now know: fish is good for you, it is a perfect ingredient to eat at least two or three times a week. But – as with all the other foods we put on our table – we should learn to choose it carefully too to the way it is fished. Aggressive fishing methods, and overfishing, put the already compromised ecosystem of our seas and also related industries given that 600 million people are employed in the fishing sector. If you fish too much and badly, the already scarce fish risks becoming even scarcer. In reverse, Sustainably managed fisheries are more productive in the long term.

Octopus salad (and other recipes)

How do we know how the fish we eat is caught? Our trusted fishmonger can tell us this and some certifications attest to it, easily recognizable by the stickers. Like the blue one from MSC Marine Stewardship Council, an international non-profit organization that promotes sustainable fishing. To remind us how important it is to know what we eat, for our health and that of the planet, MSC has also just launched a new recipe book entirely dedicated to fish with Smartfoodsthe program in nutrition sciences and communication of theEuropean Institute of Oncology of Milan (IEO).

Healthy and sustainable fish

Is called Good for you, good for the oceanAnd downloadable for free (on www.msc.org) and the octopus salad is one of the nine recipes available. They are all recipes healthy, light and very simple, think of it as an invitation to make us vary by combining the fisha great protagonist of the Mediterranean diet for its precious nutritional properties, with others healthy ingredients: from wholemeal pasta with prawns to roasted cabbage with cod, for example. Ideas to experiment, vary, realize once again that the best diet for us is also the best for the planet. Because, as Lucilla Titta, IEO Smartfood coordinator, underlined: «Choosing a healthy diet, with sustainable quantities of raw materials from which you can draw, is the starting point for protecting the environment, as well as yourself.

The octopus salad recipe

Ingredients

• 600 g of octopus
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 stalk of celery
• 200 g of cherry tomatoes cut into quarters
• ½ tablespoon per serving of pitted black olives
• 1 handful of finely chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• pepper
• wholemeal bread for serving

Method

1. Place the bay leaf and the octopus in a large pan filled with cold water, bring it to the boil and then cook it slowly for about 30 minutes.
2. Turn off the heat and leave to cool for 30 minutes in the water to make the octopus more tender.
3. Clean the tentacles a little roughly and cut them into small pieces.
4. Place them in a bowl and add the finely chopped celery, tomatoes, olives and
   parsley.
5. Season with oil and pepper and mix well to flavor all the ingredients.
6. Serve the salad on a serving plate with a nice slice of toasted wholemeal bread.

Other articles from La Cucina Italiana that might interest you:

Pappardelle octopus, mussels and clams