Squidlicious

The first time I can truly remember someone trying to feed me squid was March 1994, while staying with the LaForese family in New Jersey. An adventurous school trip. Taking a dozen teenagers from Germany to America wouldn't be my cup of tea. But then teaching isn't either!

We all got to stay with real American families in New Jersey followed by Springfield (Washington DC not Simpsons). Our head host was a fireman at the 10 ladder house opposite the WTC. Fortunately he had retired by 2001. Anyway I digress.

The point is this Italian American family bought us pizza for dinner one night and with it came calamari. Me, a 14 yr old fussy eater was mortified and stayed clear of the scary looking rings. Why would you eat a slimy jellyfish looking fish. Was it even a fish? Or is it a slimy sea monster?! Yuk yuk yuk. And so continued from then to avoid Calamari.

Now Lime has taught me a lot involving food over the years. Although he hasn't helped my inability to NOT cut myself with big shiny knives when dicing veggies. But he has also convinced me that the quality of one food can alter between every country. As can the taste and cooking abilities of the locals.

So in recent years I have not only grown to like squid (providing it is cooked well). But I can also now cook it myself. Not that it's hard. If you can boil an egg then you can manage it.

It is unfortunately as slimey as it looks before cooking. Depending on how you're cutting it you might also have to score it too. And the tubes can be quite smelly. And over or under cook it by a minute or two and you're screwed. Chewy averageness awaits. But if you get it right - yum.

It's also mega cheap (at least on this side of the world) and a lot easier then descaling or deboning a fish!

So go forth all to your local fish counters and make a squid salad today. Yumminess on a plate in less than ten minutes!