KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL
A riff on a tapas dish replaces the usual octopus
Enjoy a Spanish dish of sweet slices of boiled octopus sprinkled with sea salt and paprika and doused with olive oil.
Alobster is not an octopus, nor are the two sea creatures remotely similar at first glance — but I was thinking of octopus the other day when I dreamed up this dish. I had in mind the traditional Spanish tapa called pulpo a la gallega, a speciality of the Galicia region in northwest Spain. In its simplest form, it is tender, sweet slices of boiled octopus, sprinkled with sea salt, doused with olive oil and dusted with the smoky Spanish paprika called pimenton. If anything can be called a perfect combination, this is definitely in the running.
Even if you never get to Galicia, you can find this four-ingredient wonder in tapas bars all over Spain. In most iterations, a fifth ingredient is added: sliced boiled potato. Customarily, octopus cooked this way is served on wooden plates.
When octopus isn’t available, I reasoned, maybe lobster could be a worthy replacement. It has a firm texture, a briny sweetness and a satisfying meaty succulence. I have made substitutions with shrimp or squid on occasion, too. But, with lobsters on hand the other day, using them made perfect sense.
I had briefly considered other options, like lobster salad, bound in a tasty herb mayonnaise or dressed with a vinaigrette. There should be tomatoes, too, I thought. It might taste good on a roll, turned into bruschetta or served on leaves of pale green bibb lettuce.
Once I had the Spanish octopus dish in mind, however, there was no turning back. Gorgeous cherry tomatoes and ripe red bell peppers at the market also beckoned. I envisioned a composed salad, with all the elements woven together and artfully arranged on a large platter. But, as I began to play with the presentation, simplicity seemed the wiser approach.
I lined up potato slices on wooden plates, topping each with a piece of lobster, a strip of roasted pepper and a halved cherry tomato. Each morsel could be consumed in one or two bites.
What started out as a sit-down lunch became a stand-up tapas party, and, for a little while at least, we were blissfully carefree.