Squid Salad (Greek Calamari Salad)
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 30 min. plus 1 hour chilling
This colorful salad just tastes as good as it looks, it's called Kalamarakia Salata in Greece. Squid is a much prized delicacy in all Mediterranean countries. Once you know how to prepare it: a real delight!
Ingredients:
First the ingredients to prepare the squid:
Nowadays most squid is frozen and already cleaned. If you buy fresh squid, you might have to clean it yourself, click here to find out how to go about it.
- 1 kg (2 lbs) squid, cleaned, pouch cut into rings, tentacles cut in the middle
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) dry white wine
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 springs of parsley
And here is what we need to assemble the squid salad:
- 1 medium yellow pepper, seeded and cut into strips.
- 1 medium green pepper, seeded and cut into strips
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil for sauteeing pepper and garlic
- 1 large tomato, seeded and cut into strips
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) fresh coriander
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice or to taste
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar or to taste
- 200 ml (3/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil
- 250 gr (1 cup) cubed feta cheese
Preparation:
Put the squid in a sauce pan, add the wine and enough water to barely cover it. Add salt, pepper, garlic cloves, red pepper flakes, bay leafs and parsley springs. Bring to a boil, cover and cook it for 1-2 minutes or until squid turns from its fresh, slightly bluish tinge to a white opaque. Discard garlic cloves, bay leaf and parsley springs. Drain and chill the squid. A note of caution: Do not overcook the squid, it will get tough and rubbery.
Assemble the salad: Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan over moderate heat and sauté peppers and garlic just until peppers begin to soften. Cool them and add them to the squid together with all remaining ingredients. Make a vinaigrette with the lemon juice, vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste and pour over the squid salad. Mix well and adjust taste if necessary. Let it chill for at least one hour.
