Do you think that you can only enjoy small octopuses by visiting a European restaurant? not at all. They are quite accessible for home preparation. This seafood delicacy has a pleasant sweetish taste and incredibly high nutritional value. It contains the maximum amount of microelements and vitamins, among which selenium and phosphorus, a vitamin complex belonging to the group of vitamins B, and fatty acids that are not produced by the body on their own deserve special attention.

To prevent this most delicate delicacy from turning into a piece of rubbery structure, which is quite problematic to chew, you just need to follow certain tips. As a rule, octopus is included in salads. To ensure that the product is suitable for eating, it must be prepared in advance. The main type of heat treatment for salads is cooking. In order to remove remaining sand and other dirt, it is thoroughly washed in running cool water.

Next, prepare the water. It should reach a boil and be moderately salty. Small octopuses are placed in boiling water for only five, maximum 10 minutes. The main thing is to look at the condition of its tentacles; as soon as they spin, taking on the appearance of a spiral, then it’s time to get the octopuses.

Salad recipes can be easily found on the Internet. However, you can use this simple recipe. To prepare the salad you will need the following ingredients:

• 2-3 tomatoes,
• onion head,
• 2-3 sweet peppers, red or yellow,
• A tablespoon of olive oil,
• Juice of one lemon
• Chopped greens,
• A little red wine
• 3-4 chopped, boiled octopus.

Octopuses are cut into slices, tomatoes and peppers are cut into small cubes, onions are chopped into strips, everything is seasoned with oil, sprinkled with lemon juice, wine, sprinkled with herbs, and mixed.

Octopus is no less tasty when stewed. To do this, you first need to fry them for no more than five minutes in well-heated oil. Carrots, onions, tomato paste, and spices are separately fried and stewed until half cooked. At the end of cooking, octopuses are added to them and all the ingredients are simmered for another five minutes.

Some good salads are also made from octopus. Everyone who is partial to seafood snacks sometimes treats themselves to such dishes. There are very, very many salad recipes. You can use just octopus as the main ingredients, or add mussels, shrimp, rapana and much more.
So decide for yourself in what form you want to eat octopus today.

The meat of Moscardini, small octopuses that live in the Adriatic and Mediterranean seas, is valued for its unusual nutmeg flavor. This type of octopus produces the most delicious and delicious dishes.

Small octopuses: how to cook Moscardini meat

Cleaning little octopuses

In our country, it is quite difficult to find fresh octopus in stores; they are usually sold frozen, but experienced chefs say that excellent dishes can be prepared from them. Before you start cooking baby octopuses, defrost them at room temperature. Then clean, remove the eyes, and turn the carcass inside out (like a mitten or glove). Locate and remove the beak, cartilage and all entrails. Rinse the moscardini under running water.

Raw octopus has an unpleasant gray color, but when cooked it will take on a beautiful pink hue.

Small octopus salad

To prepare this dish you will need: - 800 g of small octopuses; - 0.3 cups olive oil; - 2–3 cloves of garlic; - 1 PC. sweet red pepper; - 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice; - greenery.

Chop the garlic. Boil the cleaned octopuses. To do this, boil water and carefully lower the carcasses into boiling water. Do this slowly so that the tentacles curl nicely. Cook for a few minutes until the octopuses change color. Remove from water and cool.

Mix boiled octopus with chopped garlic and olive oil. Leave to marinate for 1-2 hours in a cool place. Chop the bell pepper. Place it in a salad bowl, add herbs and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Place marinated octopuses on this mixture and mix everything.

Stuffed Moscardini

To prepare this delicacy you will need: - 800 g of small octopuses; - 100 g peeled shrimp; - 60 g butter; - greens (oregano, parsley, basil); - ground black pepper; - 1–2 cloves of garlic; - 50 ml table red wine; - 2 tomatoes; - 1 shallot; - 1 lemon.

Clean the octopuses and rinse thoroughly. Heat a frying pan and lightly fry them in butter. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice and let marinate for about 15 minutes. While they are marinating, prepare the shrimp and vegetable mince.

Boil and peel the shrimp. Finely chop the herbs and vegetables, add spices and mix everything. Place the octopuses on a baking sheet with the tentacles facing up and carefully stuff them. Pour some water onto a baking sheet and place a small piece of butter on each octopus. Heat the oven to a temperature of 175–180°C and place the baking sheet with stuffed octopuses to bake for 15 minutes. Garnish the finished dish with lemon slices and herbs.

If quite recently we saw exotic inhabitants of the deep sea only on television screens, today they can be found on store shelves. And some of them make very tasty dishes! How to cook octopus so that it is tasty and healthy?

How to make the right choice?

First of all, you should choose an octopus.

• Frozen or fresh? If you want to get the maximum benefit and enjoy the delicate taste, then it is advisable to choose fresh. But you will probably have to cut it up, although you can ask the seller about it (he will probably have to pay). And if you want to save effort and time, you can also buy frozen octopus; in this form, the carcasses are usually sold already completely cut up and even cook faster, and this is very convenient.
• Pay attention to the size. Small octopuses have more tender flesh, medium ones are more nutritious, but a large adult octopus weighing about two to three kilograms can be “rubbery.”
• Evaluate the appearance. But such a criterion will only be relevant if you buy fresh octopus. The surface of the carcass should be shiny, the color should be burgundy-brown and uniform. No damage is allowed.
• Study the smell. It is specific, but quite pleasant. It definitely shouldn’t taste like rotten meat.

Proper preparation for cooking

Preparation consists of several stages:

1. First, the carcass must be thawed if it is frozen. But this should be done only at room temperature, that is, naturally, and not in a microwave oven.
2. Next, rinse the octopus thoroughly under running cold water to remove all the mucus.
3. It is not worth cleaning the carcasses before cooking; the skin is very, very difficult to remove, so it is better to get rid of it after heat treatment (then it will come off quickly). But if the octopus is adult and large, then its shell will be quite dense, so it can be scraped off with a knife at this stage.
4. Now you need to cut the carcass (frozen will probably already be cut). To do this, it is more convenient to first cut off the tentacles, but this is not necessary. Next, cut off the lower part of the head, that is, the support on which the tentacles are held. In it you will find a mouth opening similar to a tooth or beak. It needs to be removed. To do this, first squeeze it out, and then cut it out with a knife. Also cut out the eyes.
5. Now wash the inside of the head well to remove all the offal, as well as ink, if there is any there. Then you can turn it out and wash it again.
6. If the octopus is large, then it is advisable to beat it before cooking.

How to cook?

If you decide to cook octopus for the first time, then the easiest way for you will be boiling. But how long should you cook it to make it tasty? Processing should be short, otherwise the meat will become stringy and tough, like rubber (this is a very common problem).

Your task is simply to destroy all pathogenic organisms. Small octopuses only need to be cooked for about five to seven minutes, larger ones - about 20. But a large octopus can be cooked for about an hour.

You can check readiness with a toothpick. Pierce the largest part of the carcass, that is, the head. If the toothpick goes in easily and quickly, then the octopus is ready. If not, then cook it some more. And after cooking, you can remove the skin.

How to cook?

How to properly cook octopus if you want to make a more interesting dish? Below are some interesting options.

Option #1

You can bake octopus with potatoes. Here's what you'll need:

• 1 kg of octopus (or a whole carcass);
• 1 kg of potatoes;
• parsley;
• five cloves of garlic;
• three tablespoons of lemon juice;
• olive oil;
• salt to taste.

Preparation:

1. Potatoes need to be peeled, cut into slices and boiled.
2. Boil the octopus and cut it (small octopuses do not need to be chopped).
3. Grease the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil.
4. Place the potatoes mixed with the octopus in the mold, sprinkle everything with lemon juice and olive oil, and sprinkle with chopped garlic and chopped parsley. Don't forget to salt the dish.

Option No. 2

Try stewing octopus at home using sour cream and milk. Prepare:

• 500 grams of octopus;
• 2 glasses of milk;
• half a glass of sour cream;
• five tablespoons of flour;
• three tablespoons of white wine;
• a tablespoon of lemon juice;
• three cloves of garlic;
• two tablespoons of olive oil;
• salt and pepper to taste.

How to cook?

1. Octopuses need to be boiled for about 10 minutes, adding lemon juice and wine to the water.
2. Now clean the carcasses and cut into portions if they are large.
3. Heat olive oil in a frying pan and fry the garlic.
4. Add the milk and when it is hot, dissolve the flour in it.
5. Cook the sauce until it boils, then add sour cream.
6. Now lay out the octopuses.
7. Place pepper and salt in the pan, simmer for five minutes and remove from heat.

Option #3

You can prepare a delicious salad. Here's what you'll need for this:

• 500 grams of octopus;
• 4 potatoes;
• head of red onion;
• 10 cherry tomatoes;
• lettuce leaves;
• 60 grams of pitted olives;
• 5 tablespoons of olive oil;
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice;
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar;
• a teaspoon of liquid honey.

Preparation:

1. Boil the octopus, peel and cut.
2. The potatoes need to be boiled in their skins, peeled and cut into cubes.
3. Cut the cherry into halves.
4. Cut the onion into half rings.
5. Just tear up the lettuce leaves.
6. To prepare the sauce, mix vinegar, oil, lemon juice and honey.
7. Mix the ingredients, add salt and season with sauce.
8. Salad ready!

1. The octopus should only be immersed in boiling water. Moreover, real experts advise doing this gradually: first immerse the tentacles, and when they slightly change shade and begin to curl, you can lower the entire carcass.
2. During cooking, do not add salt under any circumstances, it will make the pulp hard. For taste, you can use some fragrant seasoning.
3. If you don’t want to pound the octopus, you can freeze it; this technique will also soften the meat.
4. It is advisable to reduce the heat to a minimum; the carcasses should literally simmer in barely boiling water, and not cook in a seething broth (then the taste will deteriorate).
5. To make the pulp more tender, you can add a cork from a wine bottle (not plastic, of course) during cooking.
6. Octopus goes well with various sauces, especially creamy and soy sauces.
7. You can serve the dishes with any side dishes, for example, vegetables, spaghetti, rice.
8. To remove the skin faster, after heat treatment you can pour cold water over the octopus.

Choose the best recipe and be sure to surprise your family and guests with an unusual and tasty dish!

Modern cuisine offers a lot of seafood dishes. Seafood means everything edible that is caught from the world's oceans: fish, squid, shrimp, all kinds of shellfish, cuttlefish, octopuses... That's what today's episode will be about octopuses.

Octopus in creamy sauce

In central Russia it is difficult to find a refrigerated product, since it has a long shelf life. But frozen octopuses can be found easily. I chose not large tentacles, but small peeled octopuses, which we are used to seeing in.

They say this is a special species that does not reach large sizes. However, on the packaging the manufacturer claims that these are young octopuses. We will not discuss it, but note that the cooking time for this seafood will depend on the size of the animal.

Please note that both peeled and uncleaned octopuses are available for sale. If you get one, you will need to remove the beak and eyes on the abdomen. Having defrosted them, I still recommend turning the bellies inside out and rinsing them under running water so that the sand in the finished dish does not squeak on your teeth.

In a step-by-step photo recipe I’ll tell you how to cook octopus in a slow cooker. However, this does not mean that if you do not have this magical multi-pot in your kitchen, you should refuse the dish. The process is the same, the cooking time is the same.

Ingredients:

• Frozen octopus – 500 g,
• Onion – 1 root vegetable,
• Garlic – 3 cloves,
• Fresh tomatoes - 2 pieces,
• Cream 100-150 ml,
• Salt,
• Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp. spoons,
• Rice for risotto or sushi as a side dish.

Cooking process:

Prepare young octopus carcasses: defrost, rinse under running water, remove unnecessary fragments if necessary.

Prepare vegetables. Peel the onions, garlic, remove the skin from the tomatoes. Finely chop the onion and crush the garlic with the back of a knife, so it will release its aroma more strongly. Finely chop the tomatoes.

In a multicooker on the “baking” or “frying” program, sauté the onion until transparent or slightly golden. Place the garlic in a bowl along with the onion.

I prepared an octopus dish in a Redmond multicooker (power 900 W) on the frying program, selecting the “vegetables” product in the menu on the display. The time was set to 16 minutes. Then we load the seafood.

Mix everything. Octopus tentacles begin to shrink and curl under the influence of temperature.

Immediately add finely chopped tomato pulp. Mix again.

Season with cream. I used 45% fat heavy cream. I don't recommend adding sour cream. It will be tasty, but the appearance of the sauce will be spoiled by the curdled fermented milk product.

Close the multicooker lid and simmer for the remaining time (7 minutes). The sauce should become thicker during this time.

About a minute before the end of the program, add salt and spices. I really like the aromatic Adyghe salt with a bouquet of aromas.

This turns out to be such a beautiful seafood dish! At the same time prepare boiled rice as a side dish. I cook a glass of sushi rice in the second slow cooker, the ratio of cereals to water is 1:2.

Serve the octopus in a creamy sauce with a side dish of rice, pickled ginger and soy sauce. Very tasty, I recommend trying it!

Best regards, Anyuta.

Dishes made from small octopuses are considered a delicacy. Chefs often use the term "moscardini" to refer to them. The meat of these creatures is very soft, tender and has a sweet and sour taste. As a rule, the product is used for salads and main courses. In this article we will look at how to prepare delicious dishes from mini-octopuses.

Preparation of the main ingredient

Before you start cooking, you should prepare the seafood. The first step is to properly defrost the ingredient. This is done naturally either in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

When purchasing frozen shellfish, pay attention to the amount of ice on them. If the food is covered with a thick layer, it means that it has already been defrosted several times. A thin crust indicates freshness.

Next, you should clean the surface, remove the eyes and turn the carcass inside out. From the inside, all cartilage, beak and other organs must be removed, after which they should be washed in cold water. Initially, moscardini is gray in color, but if you boil or fry them, they become a pleasant pink color.

Cooking recipes

Mini-octopuses live in the Mediterranean Sea; the most delicious and delicious dishes are obtained from this type of sea creature. Most often, seafood is used as food in Eastern countries. In China and Japan, they are used to make salads, sushi, soups and hot main courses. Some housewives not only stew and bake shellfish, but also can them.

One of the interesting and simple ways to cook octopuses is presented in the video.

Marinated octopus salad

A delicious dish of shellfish with garlic marinade will appeal to many. It won't take much time.

Ingredients:

• 700 g octopuses;
• 4 tbsp. l. olive oil;
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• 1 bell pepper;
• 2 tbsp. l. lime juice;
• 2 tbsp. l. fresh coriander;
• 1 tbsp. l. sweet chili sauce.

Preparation

Prepare the Moscardini carcasses and rinse them in cold water, place in a colander to drain excess liquid. If large individuals are used for cooking, they should be cut into several parts and then placed in a container. Pass the garlic through a press and mix with the shellfish, cover the container with a towel and marinate in a cool place for two hours.

Heat the pan thoroughly and fry the moscardini for five minutes. Line a plate with a paper napkin and transfer the octopuses. Chop the pepper into strips and place in a bowl, add coriander, sweet chili and lime juice. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and add the prepared mini-octopuses to them. The warm salad is ready.

With vegetables

A healthy and tasty snack will decorate any table.

Components:

• 500 g octopus;
• 1 clove of garlic;
• 2 onions;
• 1 celery;
• 1 carrot;
• 2 lettuces;
• thyme;
• 300 ml olive oil;
• 1.5 tbsp. dry red wine;
• spices to taste.

Preparation

Prepare shellfish carcasses and rinse in cool water, then lightly beat. Cut all vegetables, except lettuce, into large slices, mix and place in a heated frying pan with olive oil. Fry the ingredients for about five minutes, stirring. Add spices and a sprig of thyme. After a minute, you can add seafood to the frying pan, then pour the contents with wine and cover the container after two minutes. Simmer the dish over medium heat for about twenty minutes.

In the meantime, you should take care of preparing the side dish. Divide the lettuce core into two parts and place in a high-heat frying pan with olive oil. Add a little garlic and fry the salad, inside down. Place seafood with sauce on a dish, put lettuce next to it and pour over the juice that remained in the frying pan.

Quick salad

This dish is prepared quickly and turns out very tasty.

Components:

• 800 g octopus;
• 2 tbsp. l. olive oils;
• 2 garlic cloves;
• 1 red bell pepper;
• 2 tbsp. l. lemon juice;
• bunch of dill.

Preparation

Prepare and cook the octopuses. To do this, bring the water to a boil and carefully lower one carcass at a time so that the tentacles are wrapped in beautiful circles. Boil for six minutes.

As soon as the moscardini turn a soft pink shade, you can take them out.

Pass the garlic through a press and mix with olive oil. Place slightly cooled octopuses in a bowl with the resulting dressing, cover with cling film and place on the balcony for two hours. Chop the bell pepper and put it in a container, add chopped herbs and lemon juice. Once the mini octopuses are marinated, you can add them to the salad and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste.

Stuffed

This recipe contains another seafood product – shrimp.

Components:

• 800 g moscardini;
• 100 g shrimp;
• 60 g butter;
• greenery;
• 1 clove of garlic;
• 1/4 tbsp. red wine;
• 2 tomatoes;
• 1 onion;
• 1 lemon;
• salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation

Rinse the prepared moscardini in cold water. Melt butter in a frying pan, heat and fry the shellfish until half cooked, then pour lemon juice and wine over them and remove from heat and leave to marinate. Meanwhile, you should start filling with shrimp and vegetables. Peel the seafood, wash it and leave it to dry on a kitchen towel. Finely chop the vegetables and herbs, add salt, pepper and mix.

Carefully stuff the marinated moscardini and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Seafood should lie with the tentacles facing up. Pour half a cup of water onto a baking sheet and place a small slice of butter on each octopus. Place the snack in the oven, preheated to 180 degrees for fifteen minutes. The appetizer can be served with fried potatoes, garnished with herbs.

Kebabs

Moscardini kebab will be an excellent appetizer for dinner, especially if you really want to surprise family members.

Components:

• 500 g octopus;
• 2 tbsp. l. olive oil;
• 1 lemon;
• 1 tsp. black pepper;
• 2 tsp. oregano;
• 1/2 tsp. carnations;
• 3 garlic cloves;
• wooden sticks (skewers).

Preparation

Thaw the Moscardini and prepare it. Pour olive oil, lemon juice into a bowl, add garlic and spices passed through a press. Add seafood to the marinade and mix everything well. Cover with cling film and put in the refrigerator for a day so that the ingredients are well soaked. Next, the mini-octopuses should be threaded onto skewers and placed on a preheated grill. Fry each side for three minutes. The shish kebab is ready.

Paste

Pasta with seafood is an excellent option for a complete dinner for the whole family.

Components:

• 900 g octopus;
• 2 tbsp. tomato sauce;
• 1 pack of pasta;
• 3 tbsp. l. wine vinegar;
• mint leaves;
• 4 garlic cloves;
• a pinch of chili pepper;
• 2 tbsp. l. olive oils;
• spices to taste.

Preparation

Boil the mini octopuses in salted water for seven minutes, then drain the water. Add wine vinegar and water to the seafood. It is important that the seafood is completely covered with liquid. Cook the clams over high heat until they turn pink, then drain.

Heat olive oil in a high-walled frying pan and fry chopped garlic until golden brown. Pour in tomato paste and add chili pepper. Simmer the contents for five minutes, stirring regularly. Add pre-cooked al dente pasta, moscardini, mint leaves. Simmer for another minute and turn off the heat. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix everything. Serve garnished with a sprig of cilantro.