Friday, August 21, 2009

Squid

After last night's success with bruschette (I ended up doing: roasted eggplant w/goat cheese, tomato w/basil & mint, pesto and goat cheese) I decided to continue my journey through Jamie's Italy.

You ever have really chewy calamari or octopus, whether fried, in a salad, or some other form? I've had amazing stuff, and I've had unedible stuff. What I discovered tonight is that the difference isn't so much in the quality of the squidy, but in how it's prepared. It's incredibly cheap (about 4-5 dollars a pound) and full of flavor.

First, flavor some olive oil with some garlic, lemon, and parsley stem in a pan. Then, toss on the squid (whole) and let simmer for about 15 minutes until you can run a fork tenderly through it. This doesn't actually fully prepare your squid. Jamie offers several options, and I vied for the kebab method - lightly grilling (or in my case, pan searing) with a little extra parsley, lemon juice, and hot pepper. If I had more squid, I'd try marinating it (after the tenderizing process) to make a salad.

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