Squid salads - general principles and methods of cooking
Squids are a valuable food product and, perhaps, the most affordable of all seafood, if you do not take sea cabbage into account. It is a storehouse of protein, many vitamins, amino acids, iodine and other mineral elements. Squids are sometimes called sea ginseng, because it is not only tasty and healthy meat, but also has healing properties.
Almost all parts are consumed, including tentacles and inks, except for the eyes and beak. The ink is used as a component for the sauce. They give it a truffle flavor. By the way, some Orthodox, in particular the Greeks, use squid meat in fasting, because It is believed that this product does not apply to either fish or meat. Squids are fried, baked, stuffed, pickled, even eaten raw. But most often they are used as the main ingredient for salads. These cute sea reptiles have quite a few opponents who do not consider them as food, but the army of fans is still much more.
Squid Salads - Food Preparation
Squids are a healthy, tasty and dietary product. But some do not buy them for one reason - they do not like to peel off, because This procedure is tedious and tedious. To facilitate this process, there is a little trick. Squid carcass is placed in a bowl and poured from all sides with boiling water from the kettle. This can be done with frozen squid, without defrosting them. It is not necessary to keep long in boiling water. The film almost immediately collapses and is easily removed under cold running water. Then remove the chord. It is a long transparent rod. Next, squid carcasses are boiled in salted water. Here, too, there is one moment, which is not desirable to skip - squid cooks no more than 3 minutes, if it is old - no more than five. Otherwise the meat will become very tough. Next, cooked carcasses cut into rings or straws and used for its intended purpose.
To clean the squid tentacles, you need to do this: put tentacles in boiling water and leave, with constant stirring, for about half a minute. The water will first become pink, then muddy. Pour the contents of the saucepan into the sink and rinse the tentacles under running water, rubbing them into the palms, as if washing a piece of soap. Now the tentacles are clean and ready for further use.
Squid Salads - the best recipes
Recipe 1: Salad with squid and shrimp
As the porridge butter does not spoil, and squid with additional seafood. For example, shrimp. Salad will be not only twice as tasty, but also healthier. Fresh cucumber, added to the salad, will bring a spring note in it. In the second version of the preparation, grapefruit is added to the composition, which in combination with shrimps gives the dish a delicious taste.
Ingredients (Option 1): 800g squid, 300-400g shrimp, 1 fresh cucumber, 5 boiled eggs, salt, mayonnaise / sour cream.
Cooking method
Squid boil, cool and chop finely - into cubes, thin straws or diamonds. Boil shrimp and remove from the shell, and, if possible, it is better to buy peeled, less will be trouble. Eggs and cucumber chop into small cubes. Mix the whole cut, add a little salt and fill with sour cream or mayonnaise.
Ingredients (Option 2): 700g squid, 300g shrimp, 1 grapefruit, 50g solid cheese, dressing: sour cream + mayonnaise.
Cooking method
Shrimp and squid boil. Peel the shrimps, cut the squids into strips. Cheese coarsely or finely grate.
To remove not only the peel from a grapefruit, but also to peel it off, because they give bitterness. Cut slices into pieces.
Squids, grapefruit and shrimps mix, add dressing from sour cream and mayonnaise. Sprinkle with cheese.
Instead of mayonnaise and sour cream, you can use other dressings. In this case, sprinkle cheese salad is not necessary. Mix a tablespoon of lemon juice and olive oil, add a teaspoon of honey. The sauce is ready. Another filling: take a tablespoon of honey and soy sauce, 2/3 table. lie lemon juice and 1-2 minced cloves of garlic. Stir and dress the salad.
Recipe 2: Crab Salad with Squid
Squid salad with the addition of crab meat is not just amazing taste, but also a storehouse of easily digestible protein. Crabs can be used live, previously boiled them. But a more affordable and easy option is to buy canned meat. Salad with crabs - the pleasure is not too cheap, but sometimes you can pamper yourself. Since we decided to bling, then the avocado will have to go broke. As they say, burned barn, burn and hut! Just choose it right. The fruit should be soft, then the taste of it will be pleasant, oily, slightly nutty. You can serve salad in creamer or avocado halves.
Ingredients: 0.5 kg of squid, 300g of crab meat, avocado - 1 large or 2 small. Dressing: 4 table. lies on olive oil, salt, lettuce leaves (1/2 bunch), pepper, an incomplete tablespoon of lemon juice.
Cooking method
Squid boil and chop finely. Crab meat to break into fibers or cut.
Cut the avocado to the bone with a sharp knife along the entire length and open in two halves. Remove bone. Pulp gently remove the spoon or cut with a knife and chop into squares or small sticks.
Prepare marinade for avocado. Stir the salt, lemon juice and 1 spoonful of butter and marinate the avocado for half an hour.
Prepare a dressing. Salad leaves and the remaining three tablespoons of oil grind in a blender.
Stir crabs, squids and avocados, transfer them to creamers or avocado halves, pepper and sprinkle with dressing. Who does not recognize any sauces except mayonnaise, can fill the salad with mayonnaise.
Recipe 3: Salad with caviar and squid
In the salad, one of the ingredients is red caviar, which by its presence decorates the whole dish. It allows you to transfer a rather simple squid salad to the rank of noble and festive. This salad is no longer put simple in a plate, even if beautiful. It should be served at least in a crystal salad bowl. And it is even better to arrange portions in elegant bowls, beautiful glasses or wine glasses. You can decorate the salad with a sprig of greens. It will look especially beautiful on a bright orange layer of caviar. Optionally, you can add another layer of boiled eggs, laying them on crab sticks, and sprinkle with caviar on top. With crab sticks the salad is more affordable. If desired and possible, they can be replaced with crab meat, it will turn out even smarter.
Ingredients: 1 kg of squid, 400g of crab sticks, a jar of red caviar (140g), 150-200ml of mayonnaise.
Cooking method
Cooked squids boil. How cool, cut into straws and put in a bowl first layer. Top grease with mayonnaise.
Crab sticks deploy and cut into long strips. Not all crab sticks easily unfold, so here you need to buy exactly those that will unfold. In extreme cases, you can chop lengthwise and a whole wand, although not quite even straws will turn out. Put the sliced straw in a second layer on squid and spread it with mayonnaise.
The third layer lay out a thin layer of red caviar. The layer should not be continuous, without gaps. Eggs need to be thoroughly powdered.
Recipe 4: Salad with Squid and Mushrooms
Squids have such a neutral taste that they can be combined with almost any food, including mushrooms. In the first variant, a very tasty and simple lettuce of only three components is presented - squid, onion and mushrooms. Prepares quickly and easily. Lovers of savory taste can add to it a couple of cloves of chopped garlic. In the second - also a simple and satisfying salad, but with a richer taste and a set of ingredients.
Ingredients (Option 1): squids - 1.5 kg, fresh champignons - 1 kg, onion - 1 kg, salt, vegetable oil, mayonnaise.
Cooking method
Mushrooms cut into slices or straws, onion - half rings and fry separately in butter. Fold the mushrooms and onions in a colander so that the glass oil and the salad are not too fat. Cool it down.
Peel the squids, cool and cool and cut into strips or thin ringlets. All products to mix with each other, salt and add mayonnaise (as an option - sour cream).
Ingredients (Option 2): 0.8 kg of squid, 300g of ham, 1 onion, 1 carrot, a jar (250g) of canned beans, salt, mayonnaise, vegetable oil, 300g of pickled or canned mushrooms (champignons).
Cooking method
Boil squid, cool and cut into strips. Chop the onion in half rings, coarsely grate the carrots and fry alternately until soft.
Ham cut into strips, champignons - strips or slices. From the jar with beans, drain the water. Mix all ingredients in a salad bowl, salt and mayonnaise if necessary.
Calamari salads - tips from experienced chefs
- Squids boil no more than 3-4 minutes. If it happened that you overexposed them, and the meat became hard, boil the squid carcasses for another thirty minutes, and they will again become soft.
