Squid Rolls

Everyone loves squid whether it’s stuffed, pan-fried, baked, grilled, stir-fried with salt and pepper or coated in batter and deep-fried as calamari. The Japanese use it raw in sushi, the Spanish use the ink as a flavouring, the Italians use the ink to colour pasta and it’s hugely popular in Asian cooking. Squid is rich in protein and phosphorus so not only tastes good is good. Choose small squid for sweetness with clear eyes and an ocean-like fragrance. Cook it quickly otherwise the texture becomes rubbery when overcooked. It’s one of those things people seem to be nervous about, like a lot of fish cookery - if this applies to you just remember you’re cooking it, it’s not cooking you!

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

8 medium sized squid
175ml extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons dry white wine
1 lemongrass stork, white part only, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 kaffir lime leaves - chiffonaded
1 handful coriander, chopped
1 handful continental parsley, chopped
1 lime, zest and juice
Salt and cracked black pepper to taste
1 dried chilli, chopped

Method:

Clean the squid: discarding gut, tentacles and internal plastic-like membrane. Skin them and split each one down the side with a sharp knife then open them out so they lie flat. Make three or four incisions diagonally across the flesh. Place the squid in a dish large enough to hold them all, they can overlap each other. Pour over the rest of the ingredients and leave for several hours.

Remove and drain well from the marinade and cook quickly on a piping hot grill or ridged pan for 3-4 minutes each side. Serve immediately.

To chiffonade click here