andrejthechef
SpainSeafoodSnackGluten-freeDairy-free

Pulpo a Feira

Galician-style octopus, boiled tender, sliced into coins and finished with good olive oil, coarse salt and smoked paprika over sliced potato.

prep
10 min
cook
45 min
total
55 min
serves
4
level
medium
Pulpo a Feira, a classic dish from Galicia

Pulpo a feira means "fairground octopus," named for the Galician country fairs where women known as pulpeiras have boiled it in big copper pots for generations. The whole dish is three ingredients and a technique, nothing more.

Octopus has a reputation for being hard to cook well. It is not, once you know two things: freeze it first if it was not already frozen, and dip it into the boiling water a few times before the full simmer. Both keep the texture tender instead of rubbery.

Part of our 20 best Spanish recipes list.

method

  1. Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a rolling boil. Hold the octopus by the head and dip the tentacles into the water for 3 seconds, then lift out. Repeat this three times.

  2. After the third dip, lower the whole octopus into the pot. Bring back to a gentle boil, then reduce to a steady simmer.

  3. Simmer for 35 to 45 minutes, depending on size, until a knife slides into the thickest part of a tentacle with no resistance. Add the potatoes to the same pot for the last 20 minutes of cooking.

  4. Turn off the heat and let the octopus rest in the cooking water for 5 minutes before lifting it out.

  5. Slice the potatoes into rounds and arrange them on a wooden board or plate. Using kitchen scissors, cut the octopus into coins about 1 cm thick and lay them over the potato.

  6. Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with the coarse salt and both paprikas. Serve warm, not hot.

chef's tips

  • Freezing the octopus first is not a shortcut. It genuinely breaks down the muscle fibers and makes the texture more tender, so start from frozen if you can.
  • Dipping the octopus three times before the full boil, called asustar in Spanish, keeps the skin from splitting as it cooks.
  • A knife, not a clock, tells you when it is done. Thickness varies a lot between octopuses, so check instead of guessing by time.
  • Traditionally this is cut with scissors, not a knife. It is faster and keeps the coins from tearing.