• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 476 0

reserved lemongrass from its bowl and add to the wok. Sauté, actively stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the onions start to soften. Add any juice that has collected from the squid (but not the squid itself) and the clam juice.

Cook over high heat until there is hardly any liquid left, about 2 minutes. Add the squid, basil, and fish sauce, and cook for 1 more minute. Season to taste with more fish sauce as needed and add the lime juice.

Serve immediately, over rice noodles or rice, with lime wedges on the side.

PAIRING: A riesling, such as Chateau Ste. Michelle Eroica 2008, Columbia Valley, Washington, or a Thai beer, such as Singha.

squid with chickpeas, potatoes, and piquillo peppers

1 (15-ounce can) chickpeas,

drained and rinsed

1½ tablespoons plus ¼ cup

extra-virgin olive oil, plus

additional for garnish (a

really nice, fruity olive oil

works well here)

½ teaspoon smoked bitter-

sweet or sweet paprika

Heaping ¼ teaspoon freshly

ground pepper

Salt

1 small leek

⅓ pound small-diced Yukon

Gold potatoes, skin left on

⅛ teaspoon cayenne

⅓ cup piquillo62 or roasted red

peppers, sliced into ¼-inch

rings

¼ cup manzanilla62 or other

flavorful, cured olives, pitted

and roughly chopped

½ teaspoon minced fresh

thyme

1½ tablespoons good-quality

sherry vinegar

1 pound cleaned squid,

tubes cut into ¼-inch rings

and tentacles cut in half

lengthwise, or whole squid,63

cleaned and cut

1 tablespoon roughly chopped

fresh Italian parsley, for

garnish

Squid and potatoes have a fabulous affinity for one another. When potatoes are browned a bit and cooked together, even briefly, with squid, they act as flavor sponges, soaking up any juices and providing a fluffy contrast to the tender toothsomeness of the perfectly cooked squid. When good extra-virgin olive oil and piquillo peppers are added, you are transported right to Spain—standing shoulder to shoulder at a tapas bar drinking wine out of little cups, the sun hitting your shoulders and music playing. I haven’t yet been to Spain, but didn’t that sound awfully convincing?

SERVES 4 FOR LUNCH OR AS AN APPETIZER

Preheat the oven to 450ºF.

On a baking sheet, toss the chickpeas with 1½ tablespoons of the olive oil, smoked paprika, and pepper. Season to taste with salt. Roast for about 10 minutes, or until the chickpeas are browned. Set aside. Leave the oven on.

Prepare the leek by cutting off the dark green tougher part (you can save it to make stock). Cut off the root end. Cut the leek in half lengthwise and wash well. Slice into ½-inch half-moons.

In a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat, add ¼ cup of the olive oil and, when it is hot, add the potatoes, a large pinch of salt, and cayenne. Cook the potatoes until they are crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the leeks and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, or until they are soft. Add the peppers, olives, thyme, and sherry vinegar, and sauté for another few minutes. Pull the pan off the heat and immediately add the squid and chickpeas. Mix well and scoop the mixture into 4 small oven-safe dishes, such as Spanish cazuelas or medium ramekins. Place the dishes on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes, or until the squid is tender and cooked through.

Remove from the oven and garnish with the parsley and a drizzle of good olive oil, about 1 teaspoon per person. Serve immediately.

PAIRING: A vinho verde, such as Casal Garcia Branco White 2009, Portugal, or an albariño.

grilled squid with tamarind and orange

1 teaspoon minced shallot

1 tablespoon grated fresh

ginger

1 tablespoon minced serrano

chile (seeds left in)

1 small orange, first zested,

then juiced (about 1 teaspoon

zest and 3 tablespoons juice)

2 teaspoons tamarind paste or

lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon

extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound whole squid,64 cleaned,

tentacles cut from the tubes

High-heat vegetable oil, for

oiling the grill

1 teaspoon minced fresh mint,

for garnish

Maldon or gray sea salt, for

garnish (optional)

Primum non nocere. First, do no harm.