posted by Maree 08-01-98 5:58 AM
The first is adapted from Stephanie Alexander's "The Cook's Companion: The complete book of ingredients and
recipes for the Australian kitchen" (1996), Viking Press (Penguin), Ringwood (Melbourne); New York, NY. ISBN:
0 670 86373 4.
Squid Cooked in Its Own Ink
1kg (2lb) small-medium squid (calamari) cleaned- ink sacs reserved
80ml - 5 fluid oz + 1 teaspoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large onions, fine chopped
1 large sprig oregano
1 bay leaf
2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup vermouth or white wine
40ml water (3 fl.oz minus 1 teaspoon)
salt,
fresh ground pepper
fresh chopped parsley
Cut squid bodies into rings and tentacles into ~2" pieces. Heat oil in a heavy oven proof/ stove-top proof casserole- (or use a deep fry pan/ skillet to cook on top of stove / hotplate/ hob). Saute garlic, onion, oregano and bay leaf for
5 mins. Add tomato and vermouth and simmer 5 mins.
Preheat oven to 180C (360F) if using oven method.
Slit ink sacs (do this over sink and wearing an apron- messy!) and squeeze ink through a coarse strainer into a bowl and
mix with the water.
Add ink mixture and squid to casserole, then season and cover.
Transfer to oven (if using) and cook 45 mins or until squid is completely tender. (If using frying pan/ skillet, put pan on a simmer mat / heat diffuser
and complete cooking on stove top).
Taste for tenderness and seasoning and scatter generously with chopped parsley.
A quicker version of the above recipe: -stove top After adding squid and ink, increase the heat under the frying pan/ skillet and cook squid briskly. Will be ready in less than 5 mins (give or take). Taste for doneness and adjust seasonings and scatter with parsley. Flavours are not as rich as the slow cook method but still said to be delicious.