The Best Octopus in Spain

I ate a lot of Octopus in Santiago last week; Boiled in a copper pot, served in chunks on wood, Grilled and Sliced thin on slate with olive oil, adorned with molecular foam, and wrapped in a small delicate empanada spinning in a glass box at a Gala dinner accompanied by a classical pianist.

The Galicians are  renowned for their consumption of Octopus, and as it is all over the world, their children, some who grew up to become chefs, will play with their food. The best in my humble opinion is served traditionally, baked and grilled with olive oil paprika and garlic sauce over a bed of fabulous Galician potatoes.

The photos above are of the same dish in two different restaurants. On the top is from the restaurant O dezaseis which was incredible and easily won my praise, but the 2nd is from restaurant O Celme do Caracol and was just better enough (that night) to call it the best Octopus in Santiago.

It was incredibly sweet and tender with a satisfying crunch on the surface from the grilling and a sprinkling of hard sea salts. The meaty Galician potatoes were perfectly cooked with a hint of Laurel and the sauce was deep, smoky and spicy.

It was made from a mother’s recipe passed down through generations to her son and the owner of O Celme, German Gonzalez. He bakes a 5 lb Octopus at 350 for a 50 mins in a convection oven at 80% humidity.

It is cut into 3-5 inch pieces then grilled it for about 4 minutes or until it starts to char on some of the edges. It is served over potatoes that have been boiled with Laurel, doused with olive oil  infused with smoked paprika and garlic.

Thanks to German for sharing his mother’s recipe with me. O Celme do Caracol +34 981 571 746 Rúa da Raiña 22 Santiago de Compostela España