Jan
20
Eating Octopus in Galicia Is a Party
Filed Under EN
To eat Galician octopus (a.k.a. polbo á feira) in Galicia is an extraordinary experience. It is true that seafood pervades Galician cuisine, but octopus is king in the region. I’m not sure if it’s the water there, the metal pots, or the expert hands preparing it that make it so special. Maybe it’s just tradition, or the romantic memory of eating Galician octopus at an outdoor octopus festival, but something compelled me to write a short ode to this delicious dish.
Firstly, you must eat octopus at one of the hundreds of octopus festivals that take place in Galicia. Be it summer or winter, there will always be one taking place somewhere in the region. It’s true that you can get your hands on the dish anywhere in the world, but nothing comes near to the experience of the fair: the bread from a wood-burning oven, the endless wine, and the vivacity of the attendants looking to eat octopus until they burst. (Though some fairs also serve beef and chorizo.)
The ritual is a simple one: You sit down at a communal table and are given a useless paper napkin, huge pieces of bread, and a small glass with toothpicks. To pair with the octopus, there is white wine or very young red wine, high in alcohol and served in ceramic cups. The octopus arrives on a wooden plate, drenched in olive oil, and sprinkled with sweet or hot paprika. You use the toothpicks to eat it, bite by bite. For dessert, there’s coffee, Tetilla cheese (creamy, smooth, and somewhere between sour and salty), and fresh quince.
After the second cup of wine and your second serving, you may feel like you can conquer the world—but what you really want is a nice siesta.
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