Octopus a la Gallega recipe

Omar Allibhoy
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Octopus is such a soft textured animal. Once cooked it becomes a bit chewy. It is one of Spain’s greatest delicacies in my opinion and again that is one of the reasons why we do so little to it. Simplicity at it’s best.

This recipe serves 4 people, as part of a tapas meal.

Ingredients

1 kg small octopus, defrosted
200 g new potatoes
1 tsp Sweet pimenton
1 pinch Maldon sea salt
1 drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Details

Cuisine: Spanish
Recipe Type: Side
Difficulty: Easy
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 35 mins
Serves: 4

Step-by-step

Bring a big pot of water to the boil.
Clean the octopus by shaking it under cold running water so that it releases any bit of sand it may have. Remove the brain and beak.
Grab the octopus by the head and immerse as much of the octopus as you can (without burning your fingers) in the boiling water and quickly bring it back up above the water for 5 seconds. Repeat this move 3 times releasing into the water on the last immersion; this will help for the skin not to break.
Boil it for around 20 – 30 minutes depending on the size or until tender. You can spot when an octopus is ready by skewering the tentacles and feeling it or by lifting it from the water with some tongues and observing if the tentacles have eased and look 'dead' (like when your arms are tired and go down without resistance).
In the same pot and while the octopus is boiling add the potatoes approximately 15 minutes before the octopus is supposed to be ready. A normal sized new potato takes between 14 and 20 minutes to cook.
Drain both the new potatoes and octopus and slice into 1 cm thick slices. Dress with a bit of Maldon salt and be very generous sprinkling the sweet pimenton and olive oil.