Prep time - 10-15 mins
Marinade time 2-4 hours approx
Cooking time - 2 mins
Ok here goes! I first got interested in cooking squid because according to some research it stimulates the petuitary gland which subsequently has an effect on growth hormone and can help you to grow nice and tall. So I figured it would be a nutritious family dinner time food! Squid may not be for everyone but it really depends on how it is cooked and marinated and can be a very easy 'fast food' that's good for you. I have mixed recipes and tips to get what I believe is tasty squid, (according to my family)! The only down side is that squid only keeps for a day or two in the fridge so you have to cook it quite quickly.
Ok busy, busy, busy don't have time to cook? No Problem. This takes a couple of minutes in the frying pan or George Forman grill if you want to be healthy! Best of all most of the ingredients you will probably already have in your cupboard or fridge (except the squid which is very cheap to buy anyway and many supermarkets stock it in their fresh fish section).
Alter according to amount of people, squid shrinks when it cooks, so about two tubes per person would be required or one for a small child.
Ingredients:
a zip loc bag (or plastic sandwich/freezer bag)
4 fresh squid (cleaned)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 1/4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (I use jif lemon from fridge, the stuff you squeeze on pancakes for ease)!
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon pepper
METHOD:
It looks gruesom but is really easy to do, if in any doubt there are lots of guides on the web to help. Take the fishmonger prepared squid, make a cut down one side of the body tube and open it. There might be a hard transparent plastic looking pen shaped spine which can be easily removed from the flesh with a knife and comes away cleanly. Keeping the tentacles to cook as well is optional, I don't usually bother as the end result looks more like a thin chicken burger to the kids! Pull out all of the insides of the body of the squid. If you want to keep the tentacles, once you have pulled everything out of the open squid tube, cut off the head, leaving only the separate tentacles (discard the head).
I usually peel off the fins from the outside of the squid but they are edible so you can keep them on if you wish. If you have had to use chunks of large squid, then just lightly score the inside of the flesh, which will help tenderise it. Wash the squid and tentacles under the cold drinking water tap and leave to one side for water to drain off while you do the next step.
PREPARING THE MARINADE
Mix all the ingredients apart from the squid together in a bowl. Then put the prepared squid in the bowl and fully immerse and cover it in the marinade. Carefully pour the squid and marinade into the zip loc (plastic sandwich/freezer) bag and secure the top I usually just fold it over and secure with a peg, it depends what type of bag you have though!
You may wonder why put it in a bag? Well the answer is the plastic bag helps the squid to marinade in the lemon mixture quicker. If you leave it out of the fridge in a pantry it will take about two hours or so. If you put it in the fridge it is best to leave it longer maybe four hours or so. The marination is one of the most important steps so don't under-marinate!
Have a hot grill on standby when you are ready to take the squid out of the bag and cook it for a minute or so each side (approx) you will see it cooking very quickly so be careful not to over cook.
If the squid is not properly marinated it will taste rubbery and if it is cooked for too long it will also not taste right.
Serve the squid with a fresh green salad. YUM YUM. Enjoy!
Source of information - BBC Food recipes (Method/cooking), One Bite Won't Kill You by Anne Hodgman - for picky kids (adapted marinade) and Lock Fyne Restuarants (method tips), Jamie Oliver (plastic bag idea)
Marinade time 2-4 hours approx
Cooking time - 2 mins
Ok here goes! I first got interested in cooking squid because according to some research it stimulates the petuitary gland which subsequently has an effect on growth hormone and can help you to grow nice and tall. So I figured it would be a nutritious family dinner time food! Squid may not be for everyone but it really depends on how it is cooked and marinated and can be a very easy 'fast food' that's good for you. I have mixed recipes and tips to get what I believe is tasty squid, (according to my family)! The only down side is that squid only keeps for a day or two in the fridge so you have to cook it quite quickly.
Ok busy, busy, busy don't have time to cook? No Problem. This takes a couple of minutes in the frying pan or George Forman grill if you want to be healthy! Best of all most of the ingredients you will probably already have in your cupboard or fridge (except the squid which is very cheap to buy anyway and many supermarkets stock it in their fresh fish section).
Alter according to amount of people, squid shrinks when it cooks, so about two tubes per person would be required or one for a small child.
Ingredients:
a zip loc bag (or plastic sandwich/freezer bag)
4 fresh squid (cleaned)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 1/4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (I use jif lemon from fridge, the stuff you squeeze on pancakes for ease)!
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon pepper
METHOD:
It looks gruesom but is really easy to do, if in any doubt there are lots of guides on the web to help. Take the fishmonger prepared squid, make a cut down one side of the body tube and open it. There might be a hard transparent plastic looking pen shaped spine which can be easily removed from the flesh with a knife and comes away cleanly. Keeping the tentacles to cook as well is optional, I don't usually bother as the end result looks more like a thin chicken burger to the kids! Pull out all of the insides of the body of the squid. If you want to keep the tentacles, once you have pulled everything out of the open squid tube, cut off the head, leaving only the separate tentacles (discard the head).
I usually peel off the fins from the outside of the squid but they are edible so you can keep them on if you wish. If you have had to use chunks of large squid, then just lightly score the inside of the flesh, which will help tenderise it. Wash the squid and tentacles under the cold drinking water tap and leave to one side for water to drain off while you do the next step.
PREPARING THE MARINADE
Mix all the ingredients apart from the squid together in a bowl. Then put the prepared squid in the bowl and fully immerse and cover it in the marinade. Carefully pour the squid and marinade into the zip loc (plastic sandwich/freezer) bag and secure the top I usually just fold it over and secure with a peg, it depends what type of bag you have though!
You may wonder why put it in a bag? Well the answer is the plastic bag helps the squid to marinade in the lemon mixture quicker. If you leave it out of the fridge in a pantry it will take about two hours or so. If you put it in the fridge it is best to leave it longer maybe four hours or so. The marination is one of the most important steps so don't under-marinate!
Have a hot grill on standby when you are ready to take the squid out of the bag and cook it for a minute or so each side (approx) you will see it cooking very quickly so be careful not to over cook.
If the squid is not properly marinated it will taste rubbery and if it is cooked for too long it will also not taste right.
Serve the squid with a fresh green salad. YUM YUM. Enjoy!
Source of information - BBC Food recipes (Method/cooking), One Bite Won't Kill You by Anne Hodgman - for picky kids (adapted marinade) and Lock Fyne Restuarants (method tips), Jamie Oliver (plastic bag idea)
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