Tinto has just procured a giant octopus from Alaska.  The 35 lb cephalopod may not be the size the one in Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea but that’s still a lot of tentacle. It’s only been out of the ocean for 48 hours and this evening at 5 pm, it will be served up Basque style.

Chef de cuisine Dave Conn will create a traditional Spanish Pulpo Gallego dish.  The octopus will be poached in red wine vinegar, lemon and various aromatic spices, then sauteed and served with potato confit, smoked paprika and fiddlehead ferns.

If the octopus survives the evening, look for cured octopus starting Monday.

Check out a real photo of the octopus after the jump.

Pictured L to R - Chefs Andrew Sabin, Dave Conn and Anthony Scuderi at Tinto