Pulpo a la gallega, called polbo á feira (pulpo a la feria, or fair octopus) in Portuguese, is a typical recipe from Galicia, El Bierzo (León) and Sanabria (Zamora). It also gets the name of pulpo a la sanabresa in the latter. As years went by, however, its preparation has extended across the rest of Spain.
What is pulpo a la gallega?
This dish, which has different festive aspects, is simply made with octopus, paprika, olive oil, salt and potatoes.
It was traditionally made only in copper pots and served for parties, pilgrimages and fairs, where it got its Portuguese name. Nowadays, it can be obtained in “polberías” (how grocery stores are called in Galician language) and it is generally considered a tapa.
What is the origin of pulpo a la gallega?
It is believed that the first ones consuming octopus were the Greeks, who considered it a delicacy such as salmon, and it was served with large amounts of parsley on top along with an orange sauce whose recipe is sadly unknown. However, its arrival to Spain was very different: this recipe has Maragato origins, coming from the Spanish region of La Maragatería, located at the heart of León.
Its history tells that, similarly to the sailors who used to dry cod, merchants from Galicia’s fair used to dry octopus at the shore, under the sun and wind. That way, they managed to preserve it so it could be transported later, within the region, preventing it from becoming ruined and lost, especially since it was so precious.
During the boom of paprika’s discovery as a conservation method for meat, Maragatos saw a great business opportunity: They started getting dried octopus that the Galicians didn’t want, and rehydrated and mixed it with this spice and olive oil, another popular ingredient by that time. That was how Galicia slowly started adopting this technique so they could also commercialize fresh octopus.
Tradition
As the Portuguese name and one of his origins state, this dish is typical from fairs along with empanadas. Among the most popular, there are the Feria de la Asunción de Santiago, the Feria de Froilán and the Feria of Lugo, where, in case they are very crowded, octopus starts being prepared one day prior to make sure it’s ready by then.
On these occasions, “pulpeiras” (women in charge of its cooking) put their copper pots next to the fair and dip and remove the octopus with an iron hook. To save time, it’s not rare for several octopuses to be cooked at once.
On the other hand, in Carballino (Orense), there has been a festival since 1962, named the La Fiesta del Pulpo, which takes place every year on the second Sunday of August, and where between 80.000 and 100.000 people attend. They consume up to an approximate total of 88,000 lbs (40,000 kg) of octopus. They then vote for the best pulpeira of Galicia.
It’s important to mention that this region has a tradition of pulpo a la gallega, particularly a village called Arcos. This village was near the Oseira monastery (which extended to Marín), and fishermen used to pay the tithe with the octopuses they fished. That way, monks also paid the villagers with it as well.
How to prepare pulpo a la gallega
First, it’s really important to clean it very well, not only by removing its guts but also by washing it energetically under a clean stream of water so any sea dirt is removed. Even if to soften it, it has to be boiled for a while, there are some techniques that help, such as freezing it before cooking it (to break the nerves), hitting it against a hard surface or “scaring” it.
To scare the octopus it has to be simply submerged under boiling water twice for a couple of seconds, and then a third time, in which it should be left inside the pot. That way, not only the meat is softened, but the skin is also preserved without breaking.
That is called “asustar” (Spanish word for scaring) because after the first time, the octopus is submerged, its tentacles seem to retract as if it were scared. Once the octopus is tender, it has to rest for about 14 minutes before it’s served, reaching a mild temperature.
Once ready, the octopus has to be cut with scissors in small pieces about ½ to 1 inch (1 to 2 cm) thick, with paprika (can be sweet or spicy) and olive oil on top. Pulpo a la gallega also has, under the meat, boiled potato slices: this is the main difference with polbo á feira that doesn’t carry anything other than octopus and seasoning. Sanabria’s version also adds chopped garlic.
In order for the temperature to be preserved, when it comes to serve it, it’s recommended to be done in a wooden plate or board, sprinkling some coarse salt on top. Besides, it also includes some wooden sticks so that diners can eat while marinating with different types of white wine.
Pulpo a la Gallega
Ingredients
- 1 octopus (about 6 lb / 3 kg)
- 6 medium potatoes
- 1 tablespoon pimentón de la Vera (sweet smoked paprika)
- 1 bay leaf
- Extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- Coarse salt , freshly ground
Equipment
- Dutch oven
Instructions
- Place the octopus in a large Dutch oven and cover it with a very generous amount of water. The octopus should be completely submerged.
- Add ½ teaspoon of fine salt and bring it to a boil.
- Cover and cook the octopus for 30 minutes, over medium heat.
- To test the degree of doneness, stick a small sharp knife into the octopus. When it comes in and slides inside, the octopus is cooked.
- Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover generously with water. They must be completely submerged.
- Bring them to a boil, cover them and cook them over medium heat for 35 minutes.
- Also test the cooking using a small sharp knife and check the tenderness of the potatoes.
- While the potatoes cook, using a kitchen chisel, cut the octopus tentacles into small pieces.
- Peel the cooked potatoes and cut them into slices ¼ inch (0,5 cm) thick.
- Then place them in a wooden plate and sprinkle them with a drizzle of olive oil (amount to taste)
- Sprinkle the potatoes with half the pimentón de la Vera and freshly ground coarse salt.
- Place the octopus on top of the potatoes. The octopus should cover the potatoes almost completely.
- Drizzle the octopus with olive oil (amount to taste).
- Sprinkle the remaining pimentón de la Vera and coarse salt, freshly ground.
Sources
Wikipedia (ES) – Pulpo a la Gallega
Pulpería a Garnacha
Restaurante Cambados
Por Solea
Hands Doing Things is the brainchild of Sabri and Bian, who combined their passion for food with their professional careers of writing & photography, and filmmaking.
Emerson says
A unique dish. I want to try this one.