One of the ingredients in my Portuguese-themed Kitchen Trotter box a while ago was a tin of squid. Hmmmm. I wrinkled up my nose and took a closer look. "Giant squid tentacle." That did it, I put it in the back of the cupboard and pretended it didn't exist ! But today, I must have been feeling particularly brave because I decided to give it a go.
Suppressing a scream, I opened the tin. It smells vaguely fishy but mainly of the sea.
I have to say, it didn't look very appetising and when I dug it out of the tin, it looked even worse ! Ho hum, lets just get on with it and see how it turns out !
Squid Salad
1 tin squid
1/4 green pepper
1/4 red pepper
1/2 small onion
1tsp peri peri seasoning (see below)
light French vinaigrette
Dice the squid (that makes it look less scary !) and the peppers and very finely slice the onion. Put it all in a bowl.
Add the peri peri seasoning - this was also in the Portuguese Kitchen Trotter box and is a blend of laurel (bay leaf), black pepper, birds eye chilli, pimenton de la vera (Spanish smoked paprika) and cumin. It has a lovely heady, smoky, spicy fragrance.
You could make your own vinaigrette but, as I wasn't really expecting to like this dish, I couldn't be bothered and used some Lucy's Slim Light French Dressing instead !
Drizzle over some vinaigrette and give it all a good mix. Have a taste and add some more peri peri seasoning if it needs a bit more kick.
Serve on a bed of lettuce and drizzle with extra vinaigrette, if desired.
The verdict? Well, after all my misgivings, it was actually quite nice ! The peri peri seasoning and vinaigrette tamed down the flavour of the squid and once it was all chopped up, I could pretend I was eating fish ! It's not something I'd eat on a regular basis but it was perfectly edible.
Fancy having a rummage in your kitchen cupboard to see what needs using up? Join in with the April #KitchenClearout linkie !
Gosh you are brave, my hubby would love it and
ReplyDeleteLydia probably would too. I can just about do calamari but only if it hasn't gone chewy, was this chewy?
LOL I'm the same - deep fried battered squid rings is about my limit ! It wasn't too chewy - kind of like firm fish, but cutting it up into small pieces definitely helped!
DeleteLooks delicious xxx
ReplyDeleteLooks delicious xxx
ReplyDeleteI haven't had squid in ages, but do remember the texture is quite firm. I used to buy it a seafood mix in a jar from Waitrose ages ago, for salads and pasta, and there were some squid pieces too. Now I really fancy some. Will keep an eye on tinned squid next time I go grocery shopping
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