A generous Portuguese classic: tender octopus, wrinkled-skin potatoes, golden garlic, and abundant olive oil. The dish should be simple, straightforward, almost rustic, with the clear taste of the sea and hot oil.
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg cleaned raw octopus
- 1 kg baby potatoes
- 220 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1 piece yellow onion
- 2 leaves bay leaves
- 2 tbsp coarse sea salt
- to taste ground black pepper
- 0.5 bunches fresh flat-leaf parsley
- as needed water
Method
- Rinse the octopus under cold water, then place it in a large pot with the peeled onion and bay leaves; cover with water and simmer gently until the tip of a knife enters the thickest part without resistance.
- Drain the octopus, let it cool slightly, then separate the tentacles; keep them whole as much as possible to preserve the traditional look of the dish.
- While the octopus cools, cook the potatoes with their skins on in well-salted water until tender in the center but still intact.
- Drain the potatoes, let the steam escape, then firmly smash each one with the flat of your hand or the bottom of a glass, without mashing them.
- Heat the oven to a high temperature; arrange the smashed potatoes and tentacles in a large baking dish, then generously drizzle with olive oil.
- Lightly crush the garlic cloves without necessarily peeling them, scatter them in the dish, season with pepper, then bake until the garlic perfumes the oil, the potatoes crisp on the edges, and the octopus begins to roast.
- Baste the octopus and potatoes several times with the hot oil from the dish during cooking, so they become glossy, fragrant, and slightly candied.
- Remove the dish from the oven, sprinkle with chopped flat-leaf parsley, then serve immediately with the garlicky olive oil spooned over each portion.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 609.5 kcal
- Protein
- 54.29 g
- Carbohydrate
- 50.11 g
- Fat
- 22.21 g
- Fibre
- 6.33 g
- Calcium
- 217.9 mg
- Iron
- 10.41 mg
- Magnesium
- 127.1 mg
