OUR FEATURE
Q One of my favourite dishes when I’m in a restaurant is squid but I’m put off buying it because I don’t know how to prepare it. Please can you tell me what to do, and suggest an easy way to cook it? Ruth Mason, by email
Antony Worrall Thompson answers: to clean the squid, grab the head and tentacles and give a sharp yank to detach them from the body. Pull the transparent quill from the tube and discard. Remove the beak then cut off the and discard the remainder - the eye, etc - and rinse the tentacles. Pull the fins/wings off the tube body and remove the purplish black skin or membrane, and remove the same from the tube.Clean off any internal remains but do not soak. Rinse all parts in cold water, pat dry with paper towel. The squid is now ready to cook.
To cook the squid, slit each squid body along one side with a sharp knife to open up the squid then scrape away any bits left inside. Using the weight of the knife (i.e. do not press down) score the inside with a tiny criss-cross hatched effect by cutting diagonally in two directions, to produce diamond shapes. Be careful not to cut al the way through the flesh. Griddle the scored squid on a hot oiled griddle for 30-40 seconds on each side. Alternatively, if you want to make squid rings, instead of opening up the squid, slice it in to thin strips across the narrow end to create rings then fry on a hot oiled griddle. Serve the squid with salad and sweet chilli dipping sauce.