Light, refreshing and a real gourmet choice, this is something that often makes the menu of the best seafood restaurants. A cold seafood salad makes an excellent entree and will wow your guests right from the very beginning of the meal! This particular Octopus and Squid cold salad with Sweet Basil and Garlic Oil is a great choice because it doesn't take much time or skills to make, and it tastes delicious.
As I often recommend, it's important that the ingredients are premium quality, as there isn't much in this dish besides seafood and a bit of oil with basil and garlic. So, what makes it so delicious and irresistible? The seafood is caught wild, meaning it wasn't farmed and fed junk just to get it fat enough to be collected in the shortest time possible, but it ate what it was supposed to and swam in the open ocean until caught. The garlic and the basil come from my garden, they are very easy to grow, save you a lot of money and avoid waste, as you only pick what you need.
Ingredients (to serve about 4)
- 80 gr octopus (baby octopus is also good)
- 80 gr squid
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (+ 2 for the dressing)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh sweet basil, a small bunch
Steps
1. Cook the Octopus: dip it in boiling water for 2 seconds and take it out. Repeat 3 or 4 times. This makes the flesh softer and makes the tentacles curl-up. Now turn the heat down to low, put the octopus back in the water, add the squid and cook for a couple of minutes. Careful: if you cook it for too long the flesh will go chewy and slightly hard.
2. Drain the seafood, cut it in strips and toss it with olive oil, salt and pepper. Put aside.
3. Prepare the dressing: use a food processor to blend the basil and garlic in olive oil.
4. Arrange the seafood nicely in a serving dish and dress with a few drops of basil oil. Serve the rest of the dressing on the side.
Tips and Tricks
I deep-fried a few spaghetti just for presentation. If you like, serve with toasted white bread.
Match it with
A lighter white wine, sparkling if you like. Etna Bianco D.o.c. (from Sicily) would be my choice.
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