The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern_ Knockout Dishes With Down-Home Flavor - Matt Lee [23]
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt, or more to taste
1 large lemon, halved
1 pound cleaned squid (see Squid Shopping Notes), cut into ⅓-inch-wide rings, flapper cut into strips, tentacle clusters cut in half
One 8-ounce piece seedless watermelon, cut into 1-x-1-x-¼-inch tiles (about 2 cups)
1 medium red onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)
1 jalapeño chile (optional), seeded and finely diced
¾ cup red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Leaves from 3 sprigs fresh basil, coarsely chopped (about ¼ cup)
1 Combine 1 quart water and 1 tablespoon of the salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Juice the lemon into the water. Add the squid and cook for 45 seconds. With a slotted spoon or a skimmer, transfer the squid to an ice bath (or to a colander set under cold running water) to cool and halt the cooking. Reserve 2 cups of the squid cooking liquid. Drain the cooled squid and reserve it in a medium bowl.
2 Add ½ cup water, the watermelon pieces, onion, jalapeño, red wine vinegar, remaining 2 teaspoons salt, and the black pepper to the bowl and toss until evenly combined. If the level of the liquid is below the level of the squid, add enough of the reserved squid cooking liquid to just cover. Pat a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the liquid, and place the bowl in the refrigerator until the flavors have melded, 1 to 2 hours.
3 To serve, use a slotted spoon to transfer serving portions of the squid and watermelon to small bowls. Drizzle each portion with a tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle about a tablespoon of the chopped basil over the top. Season each portion with salt, pepper, and marinating liquid to taste.
bed it down!
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This squid dish makes an impressive luncheon salad when served over a bed of arugula or any leafy salad greens: Drain the squid of its marinating liquid and dress the salad greens, tossing them with the marinade and salt and pepper to taste. Divide the greens among the plates and spoon the squid and watermelon over them. Then drizzle the oil over the salad, and sprinkle with the basil.
squid shopping notes ••• Most squid in fish markets comes with its beak and ink sac removed, but to be certain, ask your fishmonger for “cleaned” squid, and he or she can do that work for you, which saves some prep time. In your area, squid may only be available frozen, which is fine. Squid’s unique rubbery texture holds up to freezing very well (and in fact, some cooks claim that freezing tenderizes the squid). Simply thaw frozen squid completely in a large bowl of cold water before you begin.
COCKTAIL EGGS WITH PIMENTOS AND COUNTRY HAM
serves 4 • TIME: 20 minutes cooking, 5 minutes preparation
We set out these dressed-up hard-boiled eggs on plates at cocktail hour. They’re so deceptively simple—a quarter egg and a slice of roasted pepper rolled up in thinly sliced country ham. People tend to giggle when they see them—What? Southern breakfast on an hors d’oeuvre platter?—but the twenty-four pieces this recipe makes tend to disappear before the twittering subsides. You could roast the pepper yourself—for instructions, see Roasted Red Pepper and Corn Salad with Tuna—but the spirit of this dish is way more laid-back than that. Pimentos from a jar are fine. And another thing: We use our hands to pick them up off the platter, but you could spear each egg with an upright toothpick for a swankier gathering.
6 large eggs
4 ounces roasted red pepper (about 2 whole peppers)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
4 ounces uncooked country ham, prosciutto, or Serrano ham (see Country Ham Shopping Notes)
1 Fill a saucepan with a quart of water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low, and when the water simmers calmly, add the eggs gently,