Croatian Squid With Rice Recipes

CROATIAN SQUID WITH RICE

Steps:

• Buying Squid. For the best taste, and tenderest squid, you need the freshest squid possible so we recommend you start with a 3 lb box of uncleaned, whole frozen squid. Frozen squid is flash frozen as soon as it's caught, and will produce better results than "fresh" squid, which has usually been frozen and thawed for a longer time. Frozen supermarket squid is also a lot less expensive. Check that the box is not bulging on one end, indicating it was thawed and refrozen.
• Thaw the squid by wrapping the box in plastic wrap, and submerging in tepid to warm water for a couple of hours. The thawed squid should smell fresh, and there should be no need to rinse.
• Clean by pulling the head and guts from the body, and pulling out the quill. On fresh squid, the quill will pull out easily, in one piece. Any milky or translucent substance left in the body is roe, and can be eaten. Cut the bodies into 3/4 inch squares.
• Clean the tentacles by squeezing the heads to push in the beak, and cutting away the beak, guts and eyes from the tentacles. For "black" rice, remove the ink sacs from several of the larger squid, and slit open to remove the ink. Add to the skillet at the same time as the squid.
• Cook Rice. Traditionally this is a risotto, however this can result in overcooked squid, so we recommend pre-cooking the rice. Bring rice and water to a boil, then lid tightly and leave on low heat for 20 minutes. The rice should be added to the squid while still hot.
• Fry onion In some oil in a heavy 12" skillet, until they start to turn golden.
• Add crushed garlic and cook for one minute or until fragrant.
• Add squid (and optional ink) & parsley. Stir on high heat until squid turns white, and then another minute. This will take about 6-10 minutes, depending on how hot your stove is. Do not overcook! Properly cooked squid will be white, and very tender.
• Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, and stir in hot rice. Finish with extra virgin olive oil and vinegar. Check seasoning.
• This can be served thick, as a main course for or side dish for 10, or with added stock, as a soup. Garnish with grated Romano cheese.

CROATIAN SQUID WITH RICE

Steps:

• For the best taste, and tenderest squid, you need the freshest squid possible. Frozen squid is frozen as soon as it's caught, and will produce better results than previously thawed squid. Its also a lot less expensive.
• Check that the box is not bulging on one end, indicating it was thawed and refrozen.
• Thaw the squid by wrapping the box in plastic wrap, and submerging in tepid to warm water for a couple of hours. The thawed squid should smell fresh, and there should be no need to rinse. Clean the squid by separating the head and body, and pulling out the quill. On fresh squid, the quill will pull out easily, in one piece. The guts should pull out with the squid. Eggs can be left behind in the body. Cut the bodies into 3/4 inch squares.
• Clean the tentacles by squeezing the heads to push out the beak, and cutting away the beak, guts and eyes from the tentacles. For "black" rice, remove the ink sacs from several of the larger squid, and slit open to remove the ink. Add to the skillet at the same time as the squid.
• Traditionally this is a risotto, however this can result in overcooked squid, so we recommend pre-cooking the rice. Bring rice and water to a boil, then lid tightly and leave on low heat for 20 minutes. The rice should be added to the squid while still hot.
• In some oil in a heavy 12" skillet, fry onions until they start to turn golden. Then add crushed garlic and cook for a minute. Then add chopped squid (and optional ink). Stir on high heat until squid turns white, and then another minute. This will take about 6-10 minutes, depending on how hot your stove is. Do not overcook! Properly cooked squid will be completely white, yet very tender.
• Mix in parsley, remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in hot rice. Finish with extra virgin olive oil. Check seasoning.
• Can be served thick, as a main course or side dish, or with more liquid, as a soup. Garnish with grated Romano cheese.

BLACK RICE WITH SQUID

Steps:

• If the squid has tentacles, pull them away from the body. Cut the squid into 1-inch strips. Then cut into 1-inch cubes. Pour the fish stock into a saucepan, cover, and bring to a simmer. Put a large pan over high heat and add the oil. Add the squid. Fry for 2 minutes, until golden in places. Add the sofrito and continue to cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add a teaspoon of water if the sofrito starts to stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the rice, stirring it into the squid. Fry for 10 minutes, stirring often. Turn the heat to high and add a ladle of stock, stirring continuously. Once the stock has been absorbed, add another ladle and repeat until 5 minutes have passed. Dissolve the squid ink in a little of the remaining stock. Add this to the rice, and then continue adding the rest of the stock. Cook the rice for another 12 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the picada and continue to cook for another 2 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid and is just tender to the bite. Season with salt, then serve.