Pulpo a la gallega (Galician octopus)

Galicia's great party dish: tender octopus over slices of boiled potato, dressed with olive oil, coarse salt and pimentón. The fear factor is the cooking; the secret is that frozen octopus actually cooks up more tender.

Ingredients

• 1 octopus of about 1.5 kg (frozen and defrosted is fine, even better)
• 4 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 cm slices
• Coarse salt
• Sweet pimentón (and hot pimentón, optional)
• Plenty of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 bay leaf

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil with the bay leaf. Holding the octopus by the head, dip it in and out of the boiling water three times so the tentacles curl, then drop it in.
2. Simmer for 40-50 minutes until a skewer slides into the thickest part of a tentacle easily. Rest 10 minutes in the water off the heat.
3. Boil the potatoes in the same water until tender, about 15 minutes.
4. Arrange the potatoes on a wooden board or warm plates, top with octopus cut into 1 cm slices with scissors, and dress generously: olive oil first, then coarse salt, then pimentón.

Tips

• If the octopus is fresh, freeze it first: the ice crystals break down the fibres.
• The skin should stay on - if it slides off, it boiled too hard or too long.