Most people keep canned tuna fish in their cupboard. I do too, but I also have developed a fondness for many different packaged seafoods. These foods are staples for many people in European countries, such as Spain. Considered delicacies to this Pacific North Westerner, I found a fantastic variety at the shop in EVOO, in Cannon Beach last month. But the big question remains…..What does one do with canned octopus??!! Here is my tasty solution…..
I took inspiration from a salad I had at St. Jack in Portland, which was crunchy, colorful and tasty. My first step was to pick crunchy veggies, so I chose a mixture of romanesco, carrots and onions. Really, any cruciforous veggies will do! These choices were equally pleasing to the eye! Beautiful, bright green and orange colors of the veggies, looked amazing with the white and purple in the octopus:) Now, my next task, was to make the mixture tasty.
I chopped all of the veggies and the octopus into small chunks, to allow the flavors to blend well together. I decided to go with a Spanish blend of flavors. A nod to the octopus which came from Spain! Sherry vinegar, smoked paprika, lemon, salt and EVOO. I placed everything into a mason jar, gave it a good shake, placed in the fridge for a few hours and waited patiently for the flavors to come together.
Yum! This was a perfect, midweek, light dinner. I ate the entire jar of goodness in one setting and now I’m scrambling to find more of this amazing octopus on the Internet. As luck would have it, a new store, specializing in Spanish foods just opened in the Pearl. It’s called Conserva. You should check them out!