Galician-Style Octopus

⏳ Time

1 hour

🥕 Ingredients

🍽️ Servings

Description

Octopus is a controversial ingredient. On one hand, it requires careful attention to detail and expertise; it looks uninviting and is quite expensive. On the other hand, the saying 'the simpler, the better' also applies to octopus. So the question is: should you buy, clean, and prepare it following a strict and complex recipe, only to pair it with plain boiled potatoes? Yes. Try it and see for yourself—there's no combination simpler, more reliable, and tastier than boiled octopus and potatoes. And well-prepared octopus is tender, meaty, full of protein, and has no fat, which is a great reason to give it a try.

Ingredients

Octopus - 2 lbs
Potato - 21.2 oz
Paprika - 1 tablespoon
Salt - to taste
Olive Oil - to taste
Ocean salt - to taste

Step by Step guide

Step 1

Prepare the necessary ingredients.

Step 2

It is best to freeze fresh octopus overnight and then thaw it. For frozen octopus, simply thaw it, remove the beak, open the head, and remove all the insides, rinsing everything thoroughly. You can skip the freezing step, but in that case, you should tenderize the fresh octopus well: you can do this with a mallet or by hitting it directly against the table, which will make the meat softer. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt, and submerge the octopus in the boiling water for one minute, then remove it from the pot for one minute. Repeat this process 3–4 times. This will also help to soften the meat and curl the tentacles. Return the octopus to the pot and boil for 30–40 minutes, depending on its size. At the end, turn off the heat and let the octopus sit in the water for another 5–10 minutes.