Baby Squid in Olive Oil
Last night’s dinner, or should I say, appetizer. Very light.
I purchased some baby squid during our last trip to the market. This is the first time I purchased baby squid, with bodies abour two inches in length. The usual ones that I get are about five or six inches in body length. Also, hubby was tired of the usual adobo squid. He’s also trying to stay away from fried food, so that ruled out fried calamari.
I remembered a couple of dishes that I tried before that utilized baby squid. One was at Abe, but that one had milk (gata) mixed in. The other one was at Mesa.
A little research on the internet said that you needed to “soak” the garlic in the olive oil to let the garlic absorb the flavors. I also remembered a friend telling me about another recipe where he dissolved the salt in the olive oil before using it for his dish. So I incorporated these two techniques. I peeled five cloves of garlic. One was sacrificed and sliced into thin chips. They all went into about 6 tablespoons of olive oil with a sprinkling of iodized salt mixed in.
While the olive oil solution was sitting on the kitchen counter (and while I was facebook-ing), the baby squid was being thawed over a small strainer. I wanted as little liquid as possible so that the oil would run clear after cooking. On a separate bowl, some finely chopped parsley. I learned from our Passover dinner before that parsley would absorb lots of liquid within its curly leaves, so you better make sure that you pat them dry to. (To be honest, I fling them on the cutting board! Haha!)
When you’re ready, just heat up a small pan, then toss in the olive oil and garlic. You want to brown the garlic slightly, so wait a few minutes before tossing in the squid. Parsley goes in last since you don’t want it overcooked. Salt and pepper to taste. Remember not too cook the squid too long, as it’ll toughen up. A minute should do it. You’ll know they’re done based on the color change.
Quick tip: If, like me, you discover that the squid still has too much liquid – I fished out the squid from the pan first and placed them on the serving plate. Then I let the olive oil and liquid stay a few more minutes in the pan to let the water evaporate. Once only the oil remains, pour it on top of the squid. Sauce on top always gives plus points on the presentation of your dish. 🙂
Emnidy@Wordpress 