Grilled Octopus with an Olive Salsa Verde

Tender charred grilled octopus topped with a briny, acidic chunky green olive sauce – sounds like a dream dish to me.

Can you feel it? The warm breeze, temperatures above 50 degrees, it feels like Spring to me. And with warmer weather comes more seafood and grilling… a lot of grilling. If you’re like me and absolutely love octopus— and I mean a LOVE— then this grilled octopus with a green olive salsa verde is perfect for you. It’s one of those dishes where you just want to close your eyes and fantasize you’re on vacation. This recipe is a great appetizer to entertain with, especially when paired with a crisp white wine or a zesty cocktail. So go ahead, fire up the grill, gather your friends and family, and let the aroma and taste of the sizzling octopus and fresh salsa verde create memories that will linger long after the last bite is savored.

BUYING OCTOPUS

You can approach this recipe the easy way or the hard way. When it comes to buying octopus you have 2 options. 1 is to buy a whole octopus raw and boil it followed by grilling it. The second is buying pre-cooked tentacles and skipping the first cook all together. Below are the two options laid out with positives, negatives, and process.

RAW OCTOPUS

Raw octopus needs to be boiled until tender before grilling. Without this step, the octopus would be extremely tough and almost inedible. I have prepared octopus this way many times, and it isn’t hard; however, it is time-consuming. I don’t particularly enjoy starting from this point because A- I don’t often have the time, and B- you need more octopus than you think. The very large octopus you buy at the market is going to shrink significantly once it is cooked.

If you choose to start from this step, absolutely do so. To cook the octopus, fill a large stockpot with water, add several heavy pinches of salt (enough to make the water taste like saltwater), and a chopped-up lemon. Place the octopus in the pot and simmer on low for 40 minutes up to an hour, depending on the size of the octopus. Apart from time considerations, you’ll know it’s ready when the largest tentacle is tender enough to be pierced with a knife.

Once cooked, allow the octopus to rest for at least 30 minutes. This will help the skin stay intact during the grilling process. Ideally, you would cool it down completely in the fridge. If you choose this method, it’s a great idea to do it the day before.

PRE-COOKED OCTOPUS

I’ll opt for convenience any day. Buying pre-cooked octopus saves you about 2 hours of work and makes this recipe absolutely worth trying. Now, the question is, where do you find pre-cooked octopus? Surprisingly enough, you don’t have to visit a seafood market to buy some. Most major supermarkets will carry it in the frozen or sometimes refrigerated section.

Depending on how you purchased them, they will either need to be completely thawed according to packaging instructions or simply cleaned. The tentacles I purchased were covered in a jelly, which is completely normal. Just give them a quick rinse under cold water to clear and dry thoroughly before grilling.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED FOR GRILLED OCTOPUS

• Octopus – See passage above.
• Castelvetrano Olives – These have singularly become my favorite olives over the past few years. Unlike your standard green olives, Castelvetrano olives have a mild but buttery flavor. They are meaty in texture and hold up well to simmering and roasting, which is what we are going to do in this recipe.
• Green Onions / Scallions
• Cilantro – Cilantro adds a wonderful brightness and a lovely flavor to this sauce that parsley simply can’t match.
• Olive Oil – Use a good EVOO.
• Lemons – Fresh only!

TOOLS NEEDED

Grill – Yes, you’ll need a good old grill for this recipe. You could always use a grill pan indoors, but you’ll lose all that smoky flavor that a propane or even charcoal grill imparts to the food.

HOW TO MAKE GRILLED OCTOPUS WITH AN OLIVE SALSA VERDE

ROASTED GREEN OLIVE SALSAD VERDE

Roast the Olives – If you’ve never had roasted olives before, this might change how you eat them. Roasting olives enhances and intensifies their natural flavor. Preheat the oven to 400°F. On a sheet pan, drizzle a little olive oil over the drained and dried olives and toss them with a pinch of salt. Roast them for 10 minutes. They will be slightly wrinkly when done but not shriveled.

Mix + Sit – Combine the olives with chopped cilantro, green onions (both white and green parts), and lemon juice. Add the olive oil and salt to taste. Allow the green olive mixture to sit in the fridge to let the flavors meld while you prepare and grill the octopus.

GRILLED OCTOPUS

For the sake of this recipe, we’re starting with pre-cooked octopus. If you want to make this from raw octopus, refer to my basic instructions above.

Prep the Octopus – Depending on how you purchased the tentacles, you’ll either need to defrost them completely or rinse them off. I’ve found that refrigerated octopus is sometimes covered in a gelatinous coating. Simply rinse this off with cold water and pat dry. Then, toss the tentacles in a generous drizzle of olive oil and a hefty pinch of salt.

Grill the Octopus – Preheat the grill to 500°F for about 10 minutes. A hot grill is a non-stick grill. Once hot, place the octopus directly on the grates. Cook for 6-9 minutes on each side. You’re aiming for a good char without completely overcooking the seafood.

You know your grill better than anyone. While the recipe suggests grilling them for 6-9 minutes on each side, if you have an overly zealous flame-thrower grill, adjust this time accordingly. Always trust your intuition when cooking. Is the octopus burning? Lower the heat. Does it have great color after 4 minutes? Then flip it over. My grill doesn’t have many flare-ups, so it took the full 9 minutes to achieve a good char. Adjust based on your own grill’s behavior.

Chop the Octopus – Allow the octopus to cool for a few minutes before cutting. Once cooled, using a sharp knife, chop the octopus into 1/2-inch discs, leaving about 2 inches of the end intact.

Combine – On a platter or in a large bowl, top the octopus with as much or as little of the green olive salsa verde as you’d like. Give it a toss and serve.

STORING/REHEATING

While I don’t love storing seafood for later, you can store this grilled octopus in the fridge for 1-2 days in an airtight container. I personally like to store it without the green olive salsa verde, but if you’ve already dressed all of it, that works too. This dish can be enjoyed cold, or you can heat it up by popping it into the oven or toaster oven on roast at 400°F until warm (just a few minutes).

Looking for more gilled seafood? How about trying my Grilled Portuguese Sardines!