Pulpo a la Gallega is one of my favorite tapa dishes. It’s a perfect embodiment of what tapas is, just as good as an afternoon snack or as an appetizer for a larger meal. And now that I eat smaller meals trough the day, tapas is one of my favorite foods to transform into clean eating or pescetarian meals. Technically, pulpo a la gallega isn’t even the real name. In Galicia, the Spanish region from where it originally hails, it’s actually called polbo a feira, or “octopus for the fair” in the regional Galician language.
Polbo a feira came about to feed the attendees of the region’s rural fairs and markets in centuries past. Since then, though, it has become more than just “fair food” and instead a widespread favorite for all of Spain with a new pulpo a la gallega pseudonym.
However you want to call it, the recipe itself isn’t terribly difficult, nor does it have very many ingredients. At its core, it’s really only octopus, potatoes, olive oil, paprika and cayenne. I just ad some little touches to make it my own.
Ingredients
enough for 2 (multiply for more)
1 lb octopus (or I1 organic canned in olive oil or hot sauce per person , Goya make organic gluten free ones)
6-8 new potatoes, fingerling or any baby potatoes halved
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 tablespoons paprika powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
Coarse sea salt and pepper to taste
Virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups of Kale (a little wilted on the pan with the onions and the garlic after removing the potatoes) (optional)
Instructions
Stage 1: Cooking the Octopus
Remove your octopus from the freezer and place it into a stockpot
Add enough water to submerge the octopus, then bring the stockpot to a boil over high heat
Here’s the fun part: you’re going to boil the octopus for 1 minute before taking the octopus out for 1 minute. After another minute, re-submer the octopus for 1 minute, then take it out for another minute. Repeat this 3-4 times
Afterwards, place the octopus in the water for good and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let the submerged octopus simmer and cook for 50-60 minutes. If you'd like, check the octopus every 10 minutes or so to see how the tenderness of the meat changes, but you might very well see that it starts to get really tender around the hour mark
Once the octopus is cooked and tender, remove and drain of water (or keep it for a broth!). Then cut the octopus into bite-size pieces
Stage 2: Cooking the Potatoes
Pre-cook the potatoes in boiling water or steam (or in the octopus broth) for 15 minutes
After 15 minutes, drain the potatoes from the water and set aside
Add olive oil to a saute pan over medium-high heat, wait for oil to get very hot and then add the potatoes, garlic, onions with a big pinch of paprika.
Toss the garlic and onions frequently so they don't burn, but try to keep the potatoes in place. You want a nice golden brown crisp on the potatoes so it's best not move them around too much, just enough to make sure they aren't sticking to the pan.
Once the garlic and onions have nice brown to them, scoop them out of the pan and put them aside while potatoes continue to cook, frying the potatoes for another 12-15 minutes in total
return the onions and garlic to the saute pan and ad a little olive oil and drop the kale to wilted a little and get it coat with the oils and garlic and onion. divide between to plates when is done
Stage 3: Plating your Pulpo a la Gallega
Place the potatoes as on top of the kale as a second layer , followed by the octopus on top
Pour a splash of olive oil on top, followed by a sprinkle of paprika and cayenne for additional flavor. And there you have your pulpo a la gallega ready to serve!
Now this is how I change it to my taste:
After removing the kale, I add a little more of olive oil to the saute pan, ad the Octopus and the paprika and cayenne, saute them until all the ingredients were coating the octopus and add the 2 tablespoon of organic tomato paste. ad a little of the broth water and saute it a little more enough to make a little paste sauce coating the pieces and then serve.
