Octopus & Celery Salad

In Venice, this is the kind of unfussy seafood dish you’d find at a cicchetti bar: tender octopus, crisp celery, and little more than good olive oil and lemon. Its beauty is in the restraint.

The one part that takes care is the octopus. Cleaned and boiled whole for 20 to 30 minutes, it slowly turns tender; rush it and it stays rubbery, so let it simmer until a knife slides in easily.

Once cooked and cooled, you chop it into bite-size pieces and toss with finely chopped raw celery, which adds a fresh, crunchy contrast to the soft seafood.

The dressing is just olive oil, a generous squeeze of lemon, and salt and pepper, letting the sweet octopus and clean celery speak for themselves.

Serve it at room temperature with crusty bread to mop up the lemony oil.

Pro Tips

• Boil the octopus until truly tender; test with a knife, and don’t pull it early or it stays chewy.
• Let it cool a little before dressing so it soaks up the lemon and oil.
• Slice the celery thin for the best crunch-to-octopus ratio in every bite.
• Dress it ahead and let it sit, since the flavor deepens as it marinates.

Variations

• Add boiled potato chunks for a heartier Mediterranean version.
• Toss in olives, capers, or chopped parsley.
• Add a pinch of chili flakes or a sliced clove of garlic for extra punch.