Squid

During summer months, find zucchini blossoms at specialty grocers or at farmers’ markets. Halved scallions can be used instead, and small shrimp can stand in for the squid.

Masarepa, a type of precooked corn flour, and potato starch make this riff on calamari exceedingly crisp, not to mention gluten-free.

A good fritto misto crust is light and crunchy (thanks, cornstarch!). If the batter thickens as you work, thin it with a bit of soda water as needed.

Rhode Island-style calamari, which is served with hot cherry peppers, is a local favorite. Look for medium-size fresh or frozen squid (about eight to a pound) for frying.

This is a winning-contestant recipe from Season Four of Fox's MasterChef.

Washington, DC's renowned chef-owner of Citronelle has a special relationship with seafood: He was born in Brittany on the northwest coast of France. Chef Michel Richard has been decorated with nearly every cooking award, including the James Beard award, and he is known for combining fresh California ingredients with traditional French cooking. This recipe, a simplified take on a traditional French bouillabaisse, is sure to satisfy.

What Mexicans call a cóctel de mariscos is similar to what most Americans think of as a mixed seafood cocktail. Every port city of Mexico, even inland Mexico City, offers them (look for a sign advertising mariscos or shellfish). Mexico has some of the freshest seafood in the world, and definitely some of the spiciest. Look for stands where you can smell the ocean and see the seafood without a blanket of sauce so you can judge freshness by color and aroma. The classic accompaniment is crispy tortilla rounds—either chipotle or corn-flavored (usually found next to the tortilla chips in a Mexican market; saltine crackers are another option). You need the crunchy texture of the fried tortilla against the softer, juicier texture of the seafood—so this works great in a crispy taco shell as I’ve done here.

Along Mexico’s Pacific coast, calamari is commonly prepared in homes and restaurants. That area of Mexico was particularly influenced by the so-called Philippine trade routes, where the Spanish ships crossed the Pacific to Acapulco to trade the goods of Asia with the colony. The cuisine has a definite fusion edge—you’ll see Asian ingredients like ginger used there, as well as dishes with rice. This recipe comes from the Jalisco region in southern Mexico. It is simpler and more traditional than versions originating from other port cities like Veracruz, the original Spanish port and the area with the most exposure to Spanish influences, including cuisine. The mint is a refreshing and unusual complement to the robust flavor of the blackened tomatoes. The pairing of basil and mint is not traditional, but is one that I like as I think the two herbs work well together.

In Spain, the native land of paella, this classic dish is often prepared over a live fire. Georgeanne Brennan and I adapted this recipe from The Mediterranean Herb Cookbook on a wood-fired grill at her home, using onions, garlic, peas, and fresh herbs from her garden. You can use fresh or frozen calamari. The quality of the ham and chorizo is very important, so shop for the recommended types. If you can’t find them in your local store, shop online at The Spanish Table or La Tienda (see Resources). One of the secrets to this dish is that the herbs are added in layers. The second secret is to cook it over a wood fire!

Fred worked at Toqué! in the early 1990s, and one of his many tasks was cleaning squid. Every so often, the Anglophone sous chef would order from the Quebecois fishmonger at La Mer, and one day “15 pounds” of squid was heard as “50 pounds.” That week Fred cleaned 150 pounds of squid. He couldn’t smell squid for about ten years without feeling sick, but he’s back on the squid train now. The only way he can bear it, though, is filled with lobster and cooked in lobster juice.

Squid, or calamari as it is sometimes called, is not only inexpensive and delicious, but also abundant in our oceans, which makes it an excellent choice for the table. Choose squid that is pristine and fresh. The skin should be shimmering and translucent, the eyes crystal clear, and the scent fresh and sweet. Squid needs to be cleaned before cooking. First trim off the tentacles, cutting as close to the eyes as possible for maximum yield. The tentacles encircle the tough, inedible mouth or beak. To remove it, gently squeeze the tentacles where they were separated from the body and the beak will pop out. Lay the squid flat and, while holding on to the tail end, run the dull side of a paring knife firmly over the body, from tail to head, pressing out the insides and the transparent quill, a feather-shaped bonelike structure that runs the length of the squid. If the quill breaks in the body, cut off the tip of the tail and push it out that way. I don’t remove the skin; I like the way it looks. Don’t rinse squid; it absorbs a great deal of water in the process. The body may be left whole for stuffing, grilling, or roasting, or cut into rings for sautéing, frying, or making into a stew. Squid has a very high protein content, and its flesh becomes elastic and tough as it cooks. To keep squid tender, cook it quickly over high heat, for no longer than 3 or 4 minutes. The squid will be cooked, but the meat will not have had time to toughen. An alternative is to stew it in liquid over low heat for at least 30 minutes. The long cooking eventually softens the protein, and the squid will be tender again. I like to serve grilled squid as an hors d’oeuvre or along with other grilled fish or as part of an array of fish and vegetables and Aïoli (page 47). The aroma of the squid cooking on the grill is irresistible.

This is among my favorite dishes using this plentiful but still under-appreciated cephalopod. (The term, which is also used for octopus and cuttlefish, describes sea creatures whose “feet” grow from their heads.) Like many people, I’m a fan of fried “calamari,” but that dish is best suited to restaurants because of squid’s tendency to spatter when deep-fried. Although sautéing and stir-frying are good, fast techniques for squid, they, too, tend to be messy. A gentle braise in flavorful liquid and seasonings is the perfect alternative, and this one, with its Provençal spirit, is delicious and warming.

Zarzuela—the word means “medley” in Spanish—unites a variety of fish and is, like bouillabaisse, a dish whose ingredients can be varied according to what you can find. The traditional sauce accompaniment for Zarzuela is Romesco (page 606), but the variation makes that superfluous. I love this with crusty bread.

I have seen stuffed squid recipes with forty ingredients, and some are quite good; often, they contain squid ink, which—though hard to find (or to collect from the squid’s sacs)—is undeniably delicious. But those recipes are too time consuming for me. Still, squid—like piquillo peppers—seem to have been created for stuffing. So, over the years, I have devised this simple, sensible procedure, which produces a stuffed squid much like the one I was served a couple of years ago in northern Spain. Beware that squid shrinks significantly during cooking, so be careful to stuff it very loosely; over stuffing may result in burst squid. Great with Peasant-Style Potatoes (page 477) or Potatoes with Bay Leaves (page 481).

The presence of artichokes in Liguria (the “Italian Riviera”) is enough to make you envious; they’re everywhere, they’re good, and everyone seems to know what to do with them. Here’s a simple dish, assuming you can get your hands on some good artichoke hearts. This is wonderful with either crusty bread or a simple rice dish, like Rice with Onions, Garlic, and Herbs (page 518). See page 98 for squid cleaning instructions if you need them.

Though there are similar rice-and-squid-ink dishes throughout the northern Mediterranean, I was introduced to this dish by a Croatian, so it is that country that gets the credit; Spaniards and Italians will no doubt be offended. The origins hardly matter, however; this is a wonderful and intensely flavorful dish. It’s unusual, too, for a few reasons: it’s a no-stir (or, to be more precise, a low-stir) risotto; it’s jet black; and it combines cheese and seafood, which is not exactly common and, for many of us—usually including me—a no-no. But it’s also easy, delicious, and striking, a perfect dish for entertaining. Serve it with a simple salad, a white wine from northeastern Italy, Austria, or, if you can find one, Croatia, and fresh fruit for dessert. You can find squid ink in small packages at fancy fish markets or European specialty shops (or, of course, on the Internet); it’s shelf-stable though it must be refrigerated and relatively inexpensive. And though its taste is pure squid, it’s the dramatic color that matters most.

Non-Japanese may think of this as Japanese paella. Like paella, it may be made with or without seafood. Like paella, it relies on good ingredients, including rice and stock, and, like paella, it’s pretty straightforward to prepare and easy to vary. (You can make the recipe below not only with chicken but with almost any combination of seafood. You can also make it with vegetables; see page 510.) There is, however, a critical difference. Whereas paella usually relies on chicken stock, wine, and tomatoes, Kayaku Gohan (along with, it seems, about a million other dishes in Japan) uses dashi. This isn’t a problem, since dashi is easily made, as long as you stock kelp, a dried seaweed also known as kombu, and dried bonito flakes (bonito is related to tuna). Fortunately, each of these ingredients keeps forever, and each is readily available at Asian markets.

Like Tempura (page 91), the Fritto Misto batter and technique can be used with almost any morsel of food. An old-fashioned Fritto Misto might have bits of veal or other meat, frog’s legs, cock’s combs, artichoke hearts, chanterelles or other mushrooms, zucchini or other vegetables, pieces of cheese, and, of course, fish. These days, it seems most people—including me—like a fish-based Fritto Misto, with perhaps a few pieces of vegetable thrown in. I have some suggestions here, but please use whatever you like. Because you’ll have to fry in batches, and because it’s good only when very hot, it’s best to serve Fritto Misto as an appetizer and usually only to those guests who are willing to stand around in the kitchen. I don’t think Fritto Misto needs more than fresh lemon as a “sauce,” but you can use aïoli or even a light tomato sauce if you like.

Wherever you find octopus, you find grilled octopus, though it is most closely associated with Greece, where it is prepared wonderfully. Most octopus in the U.S. is sold frozen, so make sure you think ahead (the benefit is that frozen octopus is also cleaned octopus). If you buy fresh, be sure to ask to have it cleaned or be prepared to do it yourself. One more thing: Allow plenty of time for simmering until the octopus becomes tender—it’s a simple but usually time-consuming process. (Sometimes octopus becomes tender quickly—but it’s an unpredictable occurrence, not something you can count on.)

True Ceviche (page 21) “cooks” fish by marinating it in an acidic dressing. But there is a similar dish in which the fish is simmered in boiling water first; it’s used most frequently with seafood that is tough when raw, but it’s also used—at least in this country—as a form of reassurance. It’s a bit of a cheat, but so what? There is little difference between the texture or quality of fish that has been marinated in lime and that of fish that has been cooked quickly (which is why marinating in lime is perfectly acceptable in the first place). Like all ceviche, this is a great starter.

Fried calamari is one of my favorite foods. When it is lightly floured and cooked in fresh oil, rather than in a constantly reused deep-fryer, it is spectacular. But, sadly enough, I have found it to be one of the most poorly made dishes on my travels across the United States. So, if you long for good fried calamari, make yourself a batch at home. Here is my simple recipe.

Whenever stuffing anything, one may be tempted to overstuff. Well, the elegance in this dish is to stuff the calamari lightly. When you cook fish or meat, remember that it always tightens a bit, and if there is too much stuffing, it bursts out. So keep it light—follow the recipe.