Among the shellfish family squid are the easiest to prepare and definitely the tastiest. There are plenty of recipes with squid to choose from: in a salad, grilled, in a stew, as a pasta sauce... but the dilemma remains the same, how to avoid making them rubbery. Actually, it doesn’t take much to transform these shellfish from soft and tender into something impossible to chew. Take no risks and follow our recommendations.
The primary product… of excellent quality
When choosing squid make sure that they are very fresh with the skin firmly attached to the body, the tentacles of the squid tufts, its color purplish as well as a fragrance of the sea and not of... ammonia. The freshness of the ingredient is the first requirement for them to be tender and not stubborn.
Fast cooking
Squid can be cooked in many ways: stuffed in the oven, steamed, boiled, fried, sautéed, or barbecued. Its cooking is specific to the recipe and allows you to make the most of the primary ingredient. No matter what, what’s important is that the squid is cooked in a short amount of time. Its soft meat can be prepared in just a few minutes, in whatever dish you choose to prepare, otherwise it will harden. Should this occur, the only way to make them edible again is to keep cooking them until they break apart, losing their consistency completely. A squid cooked for 4-5 minutes on the other hand, maintains its softness as well as its texture, making each recipe the best it can be. Even if prepared in the oven you should leave them no more than 15 minutes, just until they are covered with a golden crust on the surface yet maintaining a tender center.
...and fitting for all recipes
A fresh squid salad is prepared in a very short time: 5 minutes in boiling salted water, then drained and plate with celery, black olives, cherry tomatoes and basil. How about a squid sauce? Prepare a sauté with garlic and onion, cut the squids into small pieces, brown them with the garlic and onion and then add some tomatoes cut in half and at the end add a lot of basil: ten minutes and you will have the perfect sauce for your spaghetti. Would you like to surprise your guests with stuffed squid? Prepare a filling with the tufts of squid browned in a little oil and garlic and then chopped, some breadcrumbs, a few capers and fresh mint leaves: fill the clean squid with this filling, close with a toothpick, place them in an oiled oven dish, dust them with breadcrumbs, oil, capers and spring onions. Bake at 200° for 15 minutes. Serve with a fresh salad. If you have a sweet tooth, take the squids, wash and dry them, put them in flour or blended tarallucci, and throw them in hot peanut oil. Cook for 5 minutes and then enjoy them very hot.