Pulpo Gallego - Octopus prepared Galician style
Octopus is a fairly common ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine when traveling around Western Europe. Octopuses are loved for their meaty yet firm protein structure and mild marine flavor. Octopuses are used in the preparation of snacks or as a main hot dish. Octopus tentacles are mostly used in production.
Photo from our Portugal travel archive
Since octopus is a non-traditional ingredient in our country's kitchen culture, we often avoid choosing this product, fearing to " spoil " it. If it is not fresh enough and/or prepared incorrectly, the octopus will become " rubbery " and possibly not chewy at all.
For this reason, in our store we have chosen already cooked and cleaned octopus tentacles that are caught in Portuguese waters. They are cooked extremely fresh - to ensure the best nutritional properties and taste. The octopus tentacles are then sorted by size, carefully packaged and flash-frozen, just once.
How to make our octopus tentacles?
Traditional Spanish preparation of Pulpo Gallego (for 4 people):
1. Boiled octopus tentacles - 400g
2. 3 large potatoes (or more smaller ones)
4. Salts*
5. Smoked peppers*
*We recommend using Amandus flavored salt with smoked paprika and tomatoes
Process
1. Thaw the boiled octopus tentacles , it is best to do this by leaving the product in the refrigerator for a day, or by immersing the vacuum-sealed package with the product in a bowl of cold water - this way you will thaw the product in an hour.
2. While the octopus "warms up", boil clean and cleaned potatoes. When cooked, cut into cubes or in a circular shape.
*Additionally boiled potatoes can easily be baked, but this will be a departure from the traditional Pulpo Gallego recipe.
3. After thawing the octopus tentacles, they can be immediately cut and served on potatoes. Octopus is best cut into circular pieces about 1.5 cm thick.
If you want a warmer dish, then we suggest heating the octopus tentacles in steam , on a pan or on the grill .
Steam preparation : place octopus tentacles in a heated steam pot and heat for 4-5 minutes. The time may vary depending on the equipment, but the process should be really short.
Preparation on a pan : add olive oil suitable for frying in a heated pan and fry the octopus tentacles in a medium heat for a total of 2-3 minutes.
Preparation on the grill: lightly grease the octopus tentacles with olive oil suitable for frying and place them on the grill in a grill heated to about 180-200 degrees. Cook for up to 2 minutes.
4. To finish, serve the octopus on top of the cut potatoes, or if you cut the potatoes into cubes, serve them in the middle of the plate and surround them with the octopus, as in the photo. Drizzle with delicious extra virgin olive oil ( Jose Gourmet Flavored Olive Oil with Lemon or Piri-Piri Paprika are great) and sprinkle everything with coarse salt and smoked paprika ( Amandus Smoked Pepper and Tomato Salt - "Two in One" is perfect).
An example of serving Pulpo Gallego
5. Have a snack with your favorite along with your favorite drinks while enjoying the flavors of the Mediterranean.
Delicious!
Photo from our Portugal travel archive