Octopus

Octopus (Pulpo in Spanish) is one of my favourite things and something I look forward to on our trips to San Sebastian's tapas bars. It's one of those things I dream about when we're twelve thousand miles away but unfortunately it's always the most expensive tapa on the menu. Needing a good Pulpo fix recently and wanting to make up for lost time I put the following recipe together so we could have the same treat at home for a fraction of the price:

Wash about a kilo of Octopus under cold running water then place it in a saucepan and add the following:

a splash of white wine vinegar, a couple of smashed whole garlic cloves, two bay leaves, a few whole black peppercorns and a few sprigs of fresh thyme.

Cover with cold water, bring very slowly to the boil then simmer it on a very low heat for about an hour to an hour and a quarter. It's cooked when it feels tender when pierced with the point of a sharp knife. Strain, discarding everything except the cooked Octopus then wash it again in cold water to remove any excess skin and leave on the side to come to room temperature then slice it into fat chunky rings.

Prepare a dressing of olive oil, garlic, paprika, lemon juice and parsley and pour over the Octopus. Serves 6 - 8 as one of several tapas with drinks.

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