Pacific Northwest: Taste

Calamari Persillade

From Café Campagne The oil and seasonings in which the calamari is cooked make a good dipping sauce for bread, so be sure to serve plenty of crusty French bread with this dish.

(For each serving) 4 1/2 ounces calamari, cleaned and cut into 1/4-inch rings 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh garlic 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley 1 tablespoon capers 1 tablespoon lemon juice, or to taste Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1. Rinse the calamari and leave it to drain on paper towels. 2. In a sauté pan over high heat, warm the olive oil with the garlic, parsley and capers. When the mixture is sizzling and beginning to fry in earnest, toss in the drained calamari. 3. Cook 20 to 30 seconds, or just until the calamari is firm and white. Add a splash of lemon juice and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. 4. Taste to correct seasoning and serve hot with bread for dipping. Note: Some recipes call for calamari to be cooked very quickly and other recipes ask the cook to slowly simmer the squid for a long period of time. What's going on? When it's flash-cooked in hot oil, calamari gets tender almost instantly. But it stays tender at high heat for only a moment; any over-cooking and it grows rubbery. Slow simmering makes it tender again. So recipes for stewed calamari or stuffed squid often suggest cooking the squid slowly for an hour or even longer.