In Galicia, in Spain's green and rainy northwest, octopus is the food of the fair. For generations, cooks known as pulpeiras, or polbeiras in Galician, set up their copper cauldrons at markets and village festivals, boiled whole octopuses, snipped the tentacles straight onto wooden plates with scissors and finished them with olive oil, coarse salt and paprika. In Galician it is polbo á feira, fair style octopus, and the town of O Carballiño has thrown an entire festival for it on the second Sunday of August since 1962, with tens of thousands of visitors and tons of octopus.

There are only four seasonings, so the cooking matters: the octopus is dipped in and out of boiling water three times before it goes in for good, which Galicians call scaring it, to set the skin and curl the tentacles. Then it simmers gently until a skewer slides in like butter, and the potatoes cook in the same rosy, flavorful water. Galicians will add that you should never drink water with it; wine, either a young red or a crisp white from the Rías Baixas, is the accepted remedy.

It is a dish for sharing, eaten off a central board with toothpicks, which makes it a natural for a race weekend gathering. The cooking takes under an hour and needs very little attention once the pot is on.

The octopus

Ingredients

• 1 (about 4 lb / 1.8 kg) whole octopus
• about 5 quarts (5 liters) water
• 1 onion
• 1 bay leaf

Method

1. Rinse the octopus well under cold running water, rubbing the suckers with your fingers to remove any grit. Turn the head inside out and check that it is clean and empty.
2. Fill the pot with the water, add the onion and bay leaf, but no salt yet, and bring it to a full rolling boil over high heat.
3. Hold the octopus by the head with the tongs or fork. Plunge it into the boiling water for about 3 seconds, then lift it out completely. Repeat twice more. Each time the tentacles will curl up more.
4. Lower the octopus into the water for good and let it return to a boil, then reduce the heat so it simmers gently. Cook for 35 to 45 minutes for a 4 lb (1.8 kg) octopus. Start testing at 30 minutes by pushing the skewer into the thickest part of a tentacle near the head.
5. Turn off the heat and leave the octopus in the hot water for 10 minutes. Then lift it out onto the board, keeping the water in the pot for the potatoes.

The potatoes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb (680 g) waxy potatoes
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt

Method

1. While the octopus rests, bring the cooking water back to a boil and add the salt. Add the whole peeled potatoes and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Lift the potatoes out and cut them into slices about 1/2 inch (1.2 cm) thick.

Dressing and serving

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) Spanish extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons sweet pimentón (Spanish paprika)
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot pimentón
• 1 to 2 teaspoons flaky or coarse sea salt

Method

1. Arrange the potato slices in a single layer over the wooden board or plate. Drizzle with a little of the oil and a pinch of salt.
2. Cut the tentacles off the body at the base with the scissors. Snip each tentacle across into rounds about 1/2 inch (1.2 cm) thick, letting them fall straight onto the potatoes. Cut the head into bite size strips and add them too.
3. Sprinkle the coarse salt over everything, then dust with the sweet and hot pimentón, tapping it through your fingers or a small sieve for an even coat. Finish by pouring the olive oil generously all over.
4. Push a few toothpicks into the octopus and serve at once while it is warm, with bread for the oil.

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