Squid Cooking Tips

The first priority is to buy freshly caught Squid, ideally caught that day. To prepare the Squid, separate the body and head by pulling apart. From the stomach remove the transparent backbone and any soft remaining parts, Pull off the thin membrane from the outside of the body and the wing shapes. Separate the tentacles from the head of the fish. Now thoroughly wash all of the fish. You can now choose which recipe option for your meal. If you are unable to buy fresh Squid try the packets of small frozen tubes that are available from most fish suppliers. 

Quick, simple and fresh. 

Take the tube and wings of the Squid and thinly slice into pieces 3 mm thick. For a single starter use 115 g. Have ready thinly sliced garlic, ginger, spring onion, chopped parsley or coriander and fresh lemon. Place a Wok on a high heat and add a light coating of sesame oil, fry the Squid for a couple of minutes. Add the other ingredients, squeeze with lemon juice and serve. You will have created a very quick, refreshing a tender Squid dish. Ideal as a starter. Look for other chef recipes here.

Stuffed Squid 

Squid, unlike most other shellfish, should be cooked very quickly or slowly. For stuffed dishes the larger examples are ideal for slow cooking. Select a tube around 15 cm long with an opening of 5 cm wide. Prepare a stuffing mix with finely chopped tentacles and wings, rice, pine nuts, onion and garlic. Loosely stuff the Squid and seal the open end with a bamboo skewer or cocktail stick. Cover the stuffed fish with stock, white wine and chopped tomatoes. Cover and simmer very gently for around 30 minutes. Remove and place on a plate with the reduced and blended cooking liquid. Simply delicious. For larger Squid tubes extend the cooking time. 

A jar of Squid nibbles 

Collect as many of the small tentacles as you can. Quickly blanch and place in a glass jar of a suitable size. Top up with olive oil flavoured with chilli, ginger, fish sauce, lemon grass, garlic and fresh green peppercorns. Seal and store in a fridge. You will have created a lovely emergency jar of nutritious nibbles to offer your family and friends.