"I had this as a first course in a very everyday sort of restaurant in the fishing village of Santona, near Laredo in Cantabria. I love going into somewhere you'd never find in a food guide where the food is simple, local stuff. I also find this sort of restaurant in northern Spain quite charming because they are decorated, or rather over-decorated, in a style that suits the whims of the owners. "In this case the owner was obviously a massive fan of hunting. There were pictures of shooting and fishing on every wall, guns everywhere, stuffed heads, and trophies all over the place. This salad, made with just a few local ingredients - red and green peppers, spring and red onions, a little garlic and olive oil - seemed entirely appropriate and rather a good way of serving sliced octopus." - Rick Stein
Ingredients
| ½ | Red onions |
| 500 g | Octopus, cooked (Main) |
| ½ | Red peppers, seeded |
| ½ | Green pepper, seeded |
| 1 bunch | Spring onion, trimmed and thickly sliced on the diagonal |
| 3 Tbsp | Red wine vinegar |
| 120 ml | Extra virgin olive oil |
| 1 to taste | Salt & freshly ground pepper |
| 1 | Garlic clove, very finely chopped |
| 1 to serve | Crusty baguette |
Directions
- Cut the octopus into bite-sized pieces: the tentacles into slices about 7-8mm thick, and the head into similar-sized pieces.
- Cut the red onion lengthways into arc-shaped slices. Cut the red and green pepper lengthways into slices then across into small chunky pieces. Put the octopus into a large mixing bowl with the red onion, peppers and spring onions.
- Whisk vinegar, oil, garlic, 1 tsp of salt and some pepper in a small bowl, pour over the octopus and vegetables and stir well. Serve with crusty bread.
