Galician Octopus

La storia di questo piatto

Born on the granite shores of Galicia, where the Atlantic crashes cold and eternal against ancient stone, this dish carries the soul of a people who have always wrestled their living from the sea — humble, proud, deeply rooted in salt and mist.

Ingredienti

• 1200 g Fresh octopus
• 800 g Yellow potatoes
• 40 g Sea salt
• 15 g Smoked paprika (pimentón de la Vera)
• 120 ml Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 piece Cork (optional)
• 4 liters Water for cooking
• 3 g Freshly ground black pepper

Preparazione

1. Mechanically clean the octopus under a stream of cold running water (8-10°C), gently rubbing each sucker with your fingers to remove sand, organic residue, and impurities — when you touch the suckers, they should feel smooth and free of any gritty particles. If the octopus is frozen, thaw it slowly in the refrigerator at 4°C for 12-24 hours, a process that preserves muscle integrity and maintains meat tenderness while preventing cellular crystallization.
2. Bring 4 liters of water to a boil in a large pot (at least 8 liters capacity) by adding 40 g of coarse salt and a natural cork to prevent broth from boiling over; the water must reach 100°C and maintain a vigorous rolling boil with constant large bubbles forming. Immerse the whole octopus in the boiling broth and reduce the heat to medium (95-98°C), maintaining a gentle and steady simmer — cook for 45-50 minutes until the meat becomes extremely tender when tested with a fork (the tines must pierce the tissue without resistance) and the skin color transitions from gray to a deeper, more uniform tone.
3. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes with a rotary vegetable peeler, completely removing the skin and eyes, then slice vertically with a chef's knife to obtain rounds of uniform thickness (1 cm ± 2 mm). Transfer the sliced potatoes to a pot containing cold salted water (dosage: 10 g of salt per liter) and bring to a moderate boil over medium-high heat (98-100°C) — cook for 15-20 minutes until a fork penetrates the center without encountering resistance (creamy consistency inside but still compact). Drain the potatoes using a colander, allowing the cooking water to drain completely, and transfer them to a warm plate for residual drying.
4. Remove the octopus from the hot broth using a skimmer and position it on a cutting board for passive cooling for about 10 minutes, until it reaches a temperature of 50-55°C to the touch — this intermediate temperature allows controlled cooling while preserving tenderness and facilitating clean cuts. With a sharp chef's knife (20 cm blade), segment all tentacles into bite-sized pieces of uniform size (2-3 cm), making cuts perpendicular to the length; arrange the still-warm potatoes (50-60°C) as a compositional base on the serving plate in a light overlapping pattern.
5. Position the cooked octopus pieces in a balanced distribution over the potato base, creating a proportional and orderly height. Generously distribute the smoked paprika (preferably pimentón de la Vera, no more than 2-3 g per portion) in an even distribution across the octopus surface — the color should become an intense and deep red — and add a scraping of coarse sea salt (1 g per portion) to balance the umami flavors. Pour a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (15-20 ml per portion) that has been warmed to 40-45°C in a small pot, pouring it in a slow circular motion to create a cascade of aromatic smoked vapor.
6. Complete the composition with a fresh grinding of black pepper (Piper nigrum) using a hand mill, adding 0.5 g per portion so the granules distribute evenly across the surface — the volatile and pungent aroma of freshly ground pepper should be perceptible immediately. Serve the plate immediately while it maintains a core temperature of 55-60°C, the moment when the paprika fully expresses its smoked aroma, the essential oils of the olive oil remain volatile and perceptible, and the tenderness of the meat reaches its organoleptic peak.