Pulpo a la Gallega

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Tall heavy pot, 8-litre capacity
• •Long sturdy kitchen tongs
• •Thin metal skewer
• •Sharp kitchen scissors
• •Slotted spoon
• •Wide wooden or ceramic serving plate, about 30cm

Instructions

1. 1

   Thaw and clean

   Thaw the frozen octopus slowly in the refrigerator for about 24 hours, set in a colander over a bowl. Check that the beak, eyes, and contents of the head have been removed, then rinse the octopus under cold water. Don't scrub away the purple skin. That skin belongs on the plate.

   Ask the fishmonger for a cleaned, commercially frozen octopus if possible. Frozen is what you want here because the cold weakens the firm muscle fibres and gives a tender result without beating the octopus.
2. 2

   Scare the octopus

   Bring the 4 litres of water to a full boil in a tall, heavy pot. Add no salt or aromatics. Grip the octopus firmly by the head with long tongs, lower the tentacles into the water for 5 seconds, then lift them out for 5 seconds. Repeat twice more, letting the water recover its boil each time. This is asustar el pulpo, scaring the octopus, and it helps set the skin before the longer cooking. After the third dip, lower the whole octopus into the pot.

3. 3

   Simmer until tender

   Let the water return just to the boil, then lower the heat to a steady simmer. Cook uncovered for 35 minutes. Push a thin skewer into the thickest part of a tentacle where it meets the head. It should enter like it does through a cooked potato, easily but with a little resistance. If the flesh still feels tight, cook for another 5 minutes and test again. A 1.5kg octopus usually needs 35 to 45 minutes, but the skewer decides, not the clock.

   Keep the cooking gentle. A hard boil knocks the octopus around, loosens the skin, and leaves ragged pieces instead of clean purple-edged slices.
4. 4

   Rest in the liquor

   Turn off the heat and leave the octopus submerged for 15 minutes. This rest lets the heat finish moving through the thick tentacles without tightening the outside. Lift it carefully onto a rimmed tray, let the excess liquid drain away, and cover it loosely while the potatoes cook. Do not rinse it.

5. 5

   Cook the potatoes

   Bring the octopus cooking liquor back to the boil and stir in the 20g fine sea salt. Add the potato rounds and simmer for 15 to 18 minutes, until a knife enters the centres cleanly but the slices still hold their shape. Drain them well and arrange them in a close, slightly overlapping layer on a wide serving plate.

6. 6

   Snip the octopus

   Separate the tentacles if that makes them easier to handle. Using kitchen scissors, snip them crosswise into 8 to 10mm pieces directly over the potatoes, keeping the curled tips whole. Cut the tender part of the head into short strips and add those too. Scissors give the blunt, irregular cut used by the pulpeiras, the women who cook and serve octopus at Galician fairs.

7. 7

   Dress and serve

   Pour the 75ml olive oil evenly over the octopus and potatoes. Scatter over the 6g coarse salt, then dust with the 6g sweet pimentón and the 1g hot pimentón, if using. Serve immediately while the oil still gleams and the potatoes are warm. No sauce, no garnish, no last-minute cleverness. Tal como se hace allí, exactly as it's made there.

Chef Tips

• •Buy a whole cleaned octopus with the weight clearly marked. Tentacles sold separately will cook, but their uneven sizes make the timing harder, and you lose the head meat that a Galician cook would use.
• •Commercially frozen octopus is no compromise. If you buy it fresh, freeze it at minus 18°C for at least 72 hours, then thaw it slowly in the refrigerator. Cooking a fresh, never-frozen octopus without first tenderizing it leaves more to luck than a beginner deserves.
• •Use sweet pimentón de la Vera as the base. Add a little picante if you want the fairground heat, but don't replace either with generic chili powder. The flavour should be smoky, warm, and red, not harsh.
• •Kennebec is the potato closely associated with Galicia. Yukon Gold is the useful substitute abroad; it holds together reliably but stays slightly waxier, so cut it no thicker than 2cm and cook until the centre yields cleanly.
• •A food-safe wooden plate is traditional because it catches the oil without making the serving fussy. Warm it briefly with hot cooking liquor, empty it, and wipe it dry before plating. A plain warm ceramic plate changes nothing important.
• •Serve with a young Ribeiro red for the old fairground pairing, or a dry Ribeiro white if you prefer. Both come from Galicia and have enough freshness to meet the olive oil and pimentón.
• •Refrigerate leftover octopus within 2 hours and use it within 2 days. Keep it whole if possible, then warm it for 3 to 5 minutes in hot, barely simmering cooking liquor before slicing. Potatoes are best cooked fresh.

Advance Preparation

• •If starting with fresh octopus, clean and freeze it at least 72 hours ahead. Transfer it to the refrigerator about 24 hours before cooking so it thaws slowly and safely.
• •The octopus can be cooked up to 1 day ahead. Cool it promptly, refrigerate it whole in a covered container, and rewarm it gently in some reserved cooking liquor before cutting. Do not boil it again.
• •Measure the oil, salts, and pimentón before guests arrive. Peel and cut the potatoes up to 2 hours ahead and keep them submerged in cold water, then drain before cooking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 410g)