A Few Odds and Ends: Squid Two Ways

As life in the PHC is not the most happening, but I do not believe in being bored (thanks, Sharron and Don Holloway, my grandmother’s neighbours for umpteen years, for teaching me that philosophy in life) so I make Sunday a day do experiment in the kitchen. 

I spent much of my life not really liking food.  There are multiple reasons for this, I have realised.  One of the big reasons is I just did not like what others were cooking.  Thanks to my three-year stint in the Peace Corps, I learned to love foods and to experiment with the variety of food I can access at a given time.  I was on my own with no place to order in food from.  Most times it was me, a bag of charcoal, a simple stove and some ingredients I could get nearby.  It was my time in Hoima, Uganda that taught me to cherish a rich variety of fresh ingredients during the rainy season and to use my imagination and make magic out of dried bean, onions, tomatoes and dried herbs and spices during the dry season.  I learned to not be afraid of ingredients foreign to me and to look for new ways to adapt ‘traditional’ foods, the ways in which they are prepared and the combinations of ingredients.

Living in Port Harcourt, Nigeria has also been a wonderful opportunity to play around in the kitchen.  Let’s keep it real and just acknowledge that if you do no go to church, there is not a whole hell of a lot of activities one may engage in on a Sunday.  One of my favourite things to do in the whole wide world is to cook with friends, talk, drink and eat.   Sundays are my free days, and I often have my crew that will come over after church service.  Depending on whether they go to the early service or not, we have a breakfast crew or a brunch bunch.  Today it was brunch, and this is how we rolled.

Inspiration:  Nigerian pepper soup

Squid two ways:  in a soup and fried on the side

Ingredients

•        Squid left over in the refrigerator from a calamari feast a few nights back
•        3 pinches of salt
•        2 pinches of coarsely ground black pepper
•       6 cloves of garlic
•        ½ cup of coconut milk
•       6 Scotch bonnet peppers
•        2 medium red onions
•        ½ cup of red wine
•      Fresh ginger root, cut into large slices that can be removed after cooking
•     A splash of fish sauce
•       1 cup of water and six cups of boiling water
•       1 pack of rice noodles
•       1 cup corn meal
•       2 pinches of thyme
•       1 pinch of basil
•       Several fresh leaves of scent leaf if you are lucky enough to be in Nigeria.  If not, use some mint leaves or some extra fresh basil or other fresh herb leaves
•      olive oil
•       enough cooking oil in a cast iron pan to fry the calamari, maybe ½ inch

Here is how we did it

1. cut the squid into piece.  I like frying the rings from the head and using the tentacles for the soup, but it really does not matter.  The most important thing is to not overcook the squid or it becomes rubber
2.      put the squid into a mixing bowl
3.     add two pinches of salt, one pinch of black pepper,  and two cloves of garlic finely chopped, then mix everything together in the bowl with your clean hand
4.      let sit while you perform the next steps
5.      cut stems from the Scotch bonnet peppers
6.     quarter and peel the onions
7.      peel the remaining cloves of garlic
8.      place in blender
9.      add ½ cup of red wine
10.      blend until you have a good paste
11.     put olive oil on the bottom of a sauce pan, add paste and water, cover and cook over medium     heat for about 15 minutes
12.      stir in some thyme and basil.  If you are fortunate enough to be in Nigeria, break up some scent leave and add it at this time
13.    also add the ginger, two pinches of salt, one pinch of black pepper and fish sauce at this time
14.      add some olive oil to coat the bottom of large pot over medium heat
15.      when the oil begins to smoke, add some pieces of squid.  Cook for about two minutes.  Do not over cook!!! The squid will become rubber.
16.     pour the pepper stock from the sauce pan over your squid and continue cooking over low heat.  This is your soup.
17.      place one bundle of rice noodles in a large pot and pour boiling water on top.  Let sit for about five minutes, then rinse with cold water.
18.      put cold noodles in a large bowl, drizzle with sesame oil  and stir to prevent sticking
19.       put corn mean in a mixing bowl
20.       add one pinch of salt, one pinch of black pepper and one pinch of thyme to the corn meal
21.       dredge the remaining squid that has been soaking in the coconut milk in the corn meal
22.       heat cooking oil in cast iron pan; you can test heat of oil by dropping a pinch of corn mean in the pan.  It will bubble if the oil is hot enough.  Do not let the oil get too hot or it will burn the cornmeal crust before the calamari is cooked.
23.      add the coated squid to the frying pan; do not over load your pan
24.       cook squid (calamari) for no more than three minutes or it becomes rubber
25.      remove squid from oil and put on a plate with a paper towel on top to absorb excess oil
26.     put cooked noodles into a serving bowl
27.      spoon enough of the soup on top of the noodles to just cover the top of the noodles; some will peek just above the soup
28.      serve the cornmeal crusted calamari on the side.   You can use the soup as a dipping sauce!

Voila!

OMG!!!  I never imagined it took so many steps.  I hate such recipes.  Sorry, but it is really worth it.  Delicious!

Evidence:

My Sunday breakfast crew needs to reunite.  Seriously.

Next week, we shall refuel after the Truppr run!!!