Salada de PolvoPortuguese Octopus Salad

Salada de polvo is a cold salad of tender octopus chunks dressed with olive oil, vinegar, chopped onion, peppers and parsley. It's on the counter of almost every Portuguese seafood restaurant and café as a starter or petisco, and it's a favourite summer dish because it's made ahead and served cold.

What makes it work: the octopus must be properly tender, which means freezing it first and boiling it gently. And it needs time in the dressing, at least an hour in the fridge, so the flavours soak in.

The recipe

Salada de PolvoPortuguese Octopus Salad

Salada de polvo, Portugal's octopus salad: tender boiled octopus with onion, peppers, parsley, olive oil and vinegar. Includes how to keep octopus soft.

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Prep20 min

Cook50 min

Total70 min

Serves4

Ingredients

MetricUS

Serves

4

½×1×2×3×

• 1 octopus (about 1.2 kg), cleaned, frozen and thawed
• 1 onion, halved, for cooking
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small onion or 2 spring onions, finely chopped, for the salad
• ½ green pepper and ½ red pepper, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley or coriander, chopped
• 100 ml olive oil
• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil with the halved onion and the bay leaf. Don't add salt yet.
2. Holding the octopus by the head, dip the tentacles into the water three times for a few seconds, then lower it in completely. This makes the tentacles curl.
3. Simmer gently, partly covered, for 40–50 minutes, until a skewer slides easily into the thickest part of a tentacle. Add 1 tsp salt for the last 10 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat and leave the octopus in its water for 10 minutes, then lift it out and let it cool.
5. Cut the tentacles into 1–2 cm pieces and the head into strips. Rub off any loose skin if you like, but keep the suckers.
6. Mix the chopped onion, peppers, garlic and herbs in a bowl. Whisk the olive oil and vinegar with a pinch of salt and some pepper.
7. Toss the octopus with the vegetables and dressing. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour, ideally 3–4. Taste and add more vinegar or salt before serving.

Notes

Clear ticks

Tap ingredients and steps to tick them off. Scaling changes the quantities at the start of each line; check the rest by eye.

Keeping octopus tender

Freezing breaks down the tough fibres, so frozen octopus is often more tender than fresh. Most Portuguese fishmongers sell it frozen for this reason. Then cook it at a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil. Our guide on how to cook octopus covers this in more detail, including the dry-pot method used for polvo à lagareiro.

Make ahead and storage

This salad is better made ahead. It keeps for up to 2 days in the fridge, covered. Take it out 15 minutes before serving so the olive oil loosens. Keep the cooking liquid for a stock or for arroz de polvo; see our Portuguese rice dishes guide.

What to serve with it

Bread, cold beer or white wine. On a petiscos night it sits well next to camarão ao alho and bacalhau com grão served as a cold salad.

From the shop

What you’ll need

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Farberware 6-quart stainless stockpot

A best-selling stockpot for caldo verde, octopus and cooking bacalhau.

Tip: Works on all hobs, including induction.

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Bordallo Pinheiro cabbage serving bowl

The famous cabbage-leaf ceramics from Caldas da Rainha, made since the 1800s. Perfect for salads and batatas a murro.

Tip: Large bowl for the table, or the set of four for individual portions.

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Bordallo Pinheiro cabbage salad plates, set of 2

Smaller cabbage plates for salads, petiscos and dessert. The easiest way to start a Bordallo collection.

Tip: Mix with the large bowl for a matching table.

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