This Spanish Octopus Recipe (Pulpo a la Gallega) is made with boiled potatoes, cooked octopus, olive oil, pimentón, and salt and arranged on a large platter.
This recipe is the easiest way to make Pulpo a la Gallega. I made this recipe by using already cooked octopus that I purchased at Costco. Most fish markets sell cooked octopus or can prepare it for you before buying. If all else fails, cooking a whole octopus is actually very easy. For a 1 to 2 pound octopus, it takes about an hour to cook in boiling water. You know the octopus is ready when you are easily able to insert a paring knife to where the legs and the head meet.
If you love this recipe, feel free to try my Spanish Garlic Shrimp or my Pan Tumaca.
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Why you will love this Galician Octopus
Versatile: Feel free to add more or less olive oil and paprika. You could add any other spices on top as well.
Great for warm weather: I lived in Madrid for four years, and I would eat this at bars with a nice glass fo Rioja.
Pulpo a la Gallega Ingredients
You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make this. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:
- Gold Potatoes
- Cooked octopus (See substitutions for uncooked octopus)
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Pimentón (Smoked paprika)
See recipe card for quantities of this Spanish Octopus Recipe (Pulpo a la Gallega).
How to make this Spanish Octopus Recipe
Start by taking the skin off the potatoes with a vegetable peeler and place them in a pot of boiling water or a steamer if you have one. Keeping boiling on high heat until potatoes are easily pierced with a paring knife, about 20 minutes. Take the potatoes out but do not pour out the water.
Turn the heat off and drop the cooked octopus into the water. We aren’t trying to cook the octopus, rather warm it up in the same water. (See note below if your octopus is uncooked).
Rinse the potatoes under cold water until cool, then slice. Arrange the sliced potatoes on a serving platter, spread out. Drain the octopus and slice the tentacles into bite size pieces.
Place the octopus on the slices of potatoes and drizzle olive oil over it. Sprinkle salt and pimentón on the octopus and potatoes.
Note: For a 1 to 2 pound octopus, it takes about an hour to cook in boiling water. You know the octopus is ready when you are easily able to insert a paring knife to where the legs and the head meet.
Substitutions
Octopus: Most supermarkets sell cooked octopus tentacles instead of whole uncooked octopus. You will only need to warm it up in the boiling water for a minute or two.
Potatoes: Traditionally, this uses gold potatoes, but feel free to use russet, Yukon or even baby potatoes.
Olive oil: It is important to use good quality extra-virgin olive oil for this. You could use good quality avocado oil as well.
Pimentón: I love using pimentón, or smoked paprika. You can opt to using regular paprika as well.
Variations
Cooking is a chance to be creative! Have fun with it and feel free to make your own variation.
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes on top, or extra pimentón.
- Deluxe - serve with a glass of Rioja.
Check out this Spanish Tortilla for more delicious tapas.
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Stone bakeware takes longer to heat up than metal pans, and also retain heat for longer, which could make the recipe more watery, or burnt on the outsides.
I love using my Caraway pots, pans and baking sheets for best quality.
Storage
This will be good in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
These ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.
Top tip
You do not need to boil the octopus for long if its cooked already. Just drop it in the boiling water for 2 minutes.
Spanish Octopus Recipe (Pulpo a la Gallega)
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This Spanish Octopus Recipe (Pulpo a la Gallega) is made with boiled potatoes, cooked octopus, olive oil, pimentón, and salt and arranged on a large platter.
Ingredients
- 2-3 large gold potatoes, peeled
- 6 cooked octopus tentacles
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon pimentón or paprika
- Salt
Instructions
- Start by taking the skin off the potatoes with a vegetable peeler and place them in a pot of boiling water or a steamer if you have one.
- Keeping boiling on high heat until potatoes are easily pierced with a paring knife, about 20 minutes.
- Take the potatoes out but do not pour out the water.
- Turn the heat off and drop the cooked octopus into the water. We aren’t trying to cook the octopus, rather warm it up in the same water. (See note below if your octopus is uncooked).
- Rinse the potatoes under cold water until cool, then slice.
- Arrange the sliced potatoes on a serving platter, spread out. Drain the octopus and slice the tentacles into bite size pieces. Place the octopus on the slices of potatoes and drizzle olive oil over it. Sprinkle salt and pimentón on the octopus and potatoes.
Notes
- For a 1 to 2 pound octopus, it takes about an hour to cook in boiling water. You know the octopus is ready when you are easily able to insert a paring knife to where the legs and the head meet.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Spanish
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 153
- Fat: 3.2g
- Saturated Fat: 0.6g
- Carbohydrates: 9.8 g
- Fiber: 0.8g
- Protein: 20g
- Cholesterol: 63mg
Food safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
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