You want octopus and smashed potatoes drowning in oil — more oil than seems decent — blasted in a hot oven until the tentacles catch and the potatoes crisp at their broken edges. The oil is the sauce. Lemon and herbs at the table, never before. Do not be timid.
Lagareiro means of the olive-press: the cookery of the lagar, the mill where olives become oil, a habit of drowning what you have in the year's pressing. Octopus boiled first until tender, then roasted hard.
Use more oil than you think. The garlic should falter in it, not burn. The potatoes are smashed, not mashed, so they drink. Roast until the tentacles spot.
Method
- 01
Simmer the octopus with the bay leaf until a knife meets no argument in the thickest part, 40 to 50 minutes. Lift it out and cut it into large pieces — tentacles left dramatic, the body in thick strips. Don't shred it; this is a roasting dish, not a salad. Pat the pieces dry so they will catch in the oven.
- 02
Boil the small potatoes, skins on, until they are just tender. Drain them well, then smash each one lightly with the heel of your hand or a mug — you want them broken, not mashed, so they will drink the oil. Spread them out so steam escapes. Wet potatoes in a roasting tin will never crisp.
- 03
Arrange the octopus and the smashed potatoes in a roasting tin, in a single snug layer. Pour over the olive oil — more than seems decent; lagareiro means of the olive-press, and the oil is the sauce. Tuck in the crushed garlic and a pinch of chili. Every piece should glisten; if it looks dry, you have been timid.
- 04
Roast at 425°F until the oil is sizzling, the tentacles are spotted, and the potatoes have crisped at their broken edges, about 20 minutes. The garlic should falter in the oil, not burn — if it is going dark, tent the tin. Bring it to the table and finish with cilantro or parsley and a squeeze of lemon, never before. The herbs wilt on contact, which is what you want.
