Polvo à Lagareiro — Roasted Octopus with Garlic & Olive Oil

Tender octopus roasted until crisp at the edges in olive oil and garlic, with punched potatoes.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 25 min
Cook: 2h 10m
Total: 2 hours 35 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Medium

Ingredients

  • 1.2kg frozen octopus, defrosted and cleaned
  • 1 onion, halved
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 800g small new potatoes, in their skins
  • 150ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 8 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Black pepper to taste
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • Cooked greens, to serve

Method

  1. Put the octopus, onion and bay leaf in a large pan, cover with water and simmer for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes until tender. Do not add salt. Drain and cool.

  2. Boil the potatoes for 15 minutes until almost tender, drain, then press each firmly to split the skins.

  3. Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Place the potatoes, garlic, remaining bay leaves and half the oil in a roasting tin and roast for 15 minutes.

  4. Add the octopus to the tin, drizzle with the remaining oil and pepper, and roast for 25 to 30 minutes until the edges are crisp and golden.

  5. Scatter with parsley and serve with greens.