How do you like to drink Pazo Cilleiro? Its freshness and its delicious volume seem ideal for a wide variety of proposals, but without doubt there is a recipe that combines all the virtues to claim a great albariño.
We are talking about one of the star dishes of Galician gastronomy, perhaps the most popular, traditional and, at the same time, universal: 'pulpo á feira' octopus with paprika.
Enchanted with the taste, versatility and delight of a good octopus, we wanted to investigate its history, and we have discovered surprising aspects. For example, did you know that the area where there are more octopus cooks and where it is said that octopus is better prepared is more than 60 kilometers from the coast, in the heart of the province of Ourense? Yes, in a village of Carballiño called Arcos there is an old monastery whose domain stretched centuries ago to the port of Marín, on the banks of the Rías Baixas. It seems that the fishermen of this village paid the tithes in kind, with the octopus that they fished. When they received the octopuses, the monks gave them to the farmers of Arcos, in payment for their agricultural services. At first they had no idea what to do with this product coming from the distant coast, but soon, starved by hunger and showing great practicality, they began to rehearse ways to prepare it. So they ended up inventing the most famous Galician recipe.
Over the centuries, the "polbo á feira" spread to all corners of Galicia, becoming something consubstantial of traditional markets, or "feiras", which on certain days fill the streets of any town, town or city. The preparation fell to the peasant women, who ended up embodying the famous figure of the "pulpeiras". With skill and art, they have made an apparently simple recipe, a symbol of Galician popular cuisine.
The preparation basically requires two secrets: a high quality of the raw material - freshly caught octopus in the Rías - and the just cooking time. The octopus is cooked in large copper pots and when ready, something that only the pulpeiras control perfectly, cut into slices with sharp scissors and seasoned with oil and paprika. During the process, large clouds of steam flood the streets. It is a kind of call: at the moment, neighbors and visitors begin to approach the posts to get a coveted ration, usually accompanied by soft and tender potatoes.
This invention of the Arcos peasants fills our tables today. And summer is the time when we most want to enjoy a good octopus, which we, as we said at the beginning, recommend to pair with Pazo Cilleiro Albariño. The combination has a wonderful flavor.
Here's the link to the page of Kanela y Limón where they explain (in Spanish) how to make the octopus. Do not miss the photos, they are very good, but be careful: do not watch them fasting!
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