What You’ll Need
- 1 1/2 pounds octopus
- 4 large potatoes
- 1 /4 cup olive oil (Spanish extra virgin, to drizzle)
- 1 dash paprika (sweet Spanish)
How to Make It
- To cut down the cooking time for the octopus, freeze it first.
- Remove it from the freezer and place it in a large pot of boiling water and cook until soft enough to eat. This usually takes about 1 hour for a 1- to 2-pound octopus. To test its tenderness, insert a knife where the legs and head meet. If it goes in easily, it’s ready to eat.
- Remove the octopus from the water and allow to cool. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Cut into bite-size chunks, slicing the legs in 1/2-inch rounds and the head into thin strips.
- Rinse potatoes and clean with a vegetable brush.
- Fill a medium-sized pot halfway with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil the potatoes until they can easily be poked with a fork.
- Remove from heat and place under cold running water.
- Allow to cool, then peel the potatoes. Slice into rounds approximately 1/3-inch thick.
- Arrange potato slices on a serving platter. Place octopus on top. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle sweet paprika over top and serve.
Selecting Octopus
You can use either fresh or frozen octopus. Depending on where you live, it may be easier to find it frozen. Keep in mind that fresh octopus should not smell fishy; this is a sign that it’s going bad.
If it’s a fresh octopus, ask the fishmonger to clean it for you. Otherwise, cleaning octopus is not difficult to do yourself. Be sure to remove the ink sac, the section of the head with the eyes, the beak, and the internal organs.
If you find boiled octopus at a local ethnic or gourmet food store, this will cut down on the time it takes to prepare this dish. Simply remove it from the package, rinse, and slice.
