Thai Accents.

Difficulty – So So

Squid is one of those wonderful texture foods.  In and of itself the flavor is very mild, but the nature of this particular mollusk is that it absorbs sauces very well.  I know that fried calamari, at least in the States, is possibly the most popular version of squid, and whereas that often hits the spot, squid without being deep fried is a much better use of the creature.  Squid is easy to make even if that is not a common belief.  Just don’t over-cook it or you’ll be having rubber bands for your meal.   If you are going to buy the squid fresh, make sure that when you clean/rinse them that you remove and grains you feel or any cartilage that may have accidentally been left on.  I find that the frozen packages rarely have that issue, and frankly I can’t tell the difference in taste.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 lb. cleaned squid, cut into evenly sized rings and tentacles (rings ~ 1/3” wide, tentacles matching thickness, many tentacles can be left as is)

¾ -1 full med. size sweet red pepper, very thinly sliced

1/3 – ½ bunch fresh cilantro, cleaned, leaves only and chopped

3 TB fresh chives, chopped

Juice of 1-1/2 limes

1/3 Cup EVOO

2-1/2 tsp. Red Chili paste

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a TBS or so of oil in a pan and, once heated, toss in the cut squid.  Mix and watch the pieces.  Once they go from translucent to opaque they are pretty much done and this takes only 2-4 minutes.  You don’t ever want to overcook it, but underdone is less than ideal as well, so bite a piece.  Once you make this a few times you’ll get the hang of it.  Have a colander waiting in the sink.  As soon as it’s done, put the squid in the colander and immediately rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.  Once cooled and drained, add the peppers, cilantro and chives.

The dressing is, at least to me, the moodier part of the recipe.  The problem is that the chili paste’s thickness makes it tough to blend.  For this reason, after I pour the lime juice, EVOO and chili paste into the salad, I actually mix it with my very clean hands.  It is the most effective way to get the best results.  Well, why don’t you process the dressing in advance, you wonder?  You can, and it’s still good, but something changes ever so slightly and I don’t like it as much.

Once mixed, cover and refrigerate for an hour or overnight.

Serves roughly four

Please excuse interim picture quality whilst I seek new equipment.

Gravlax

Difficulty: So Easy

Gravlax is a finer, creamier version of lox, Norwegian in origin.  I am sure some readers are aware of this but I have made it recently and some of my friends asked for clarification and so I did a little of my own research.  Where lox is smoked, gravlax is cold-cured.  Anyway, my German aunt, Renate, used to make it every year as an appetizer for Christmas alongside which she also had a mustard sauce, Hovmästarsås. That is the traditional way to dine on gravlax, on top  a piece of firm pumpernickel maybe, but eating it just the way lox is eaten tastes a little better to me.  I like mine on either butter or cream cheese on rye (or pumpernickel) with a little lemon sprinkled on & then a bit of pepper.  Obviously, experiment at will according to your own palate.  It is one of the easiest things to prepare, even if it takes a few days, and is totally worth the wait.

For 2-5 lbs. of salmon.  If closer to 5 lbs., I recommend changing portion to ½ cup each on the salt & sugar.

Purchase two pieces of salmon that mirror each other in shape and size, skin on.

In glass dish that will accommodate the length of the fish, mix the following ingredients:

1/3 cup kosher salt

1/3 cup sugar

2-3 tsp. black pepper

Several sprigs of dill (optional)

Dredge all sides of the salmon pieces in the mixture so that everything is covered.  Do not toss remainder of the dry rub–just keep it in the dish.  Place one piece, skin side down, in the dish.  Place the other piece on top of the other, flesh side down (so that it is flesh to flesh, skin always on the outside).

Put plastic wrap over the dish to cover.  Weight the fish (I use a brick on top of an upside down plate).  Ideally, try to find a better looking brick than I did.

For the next 3-4 days simply flip the fish each morning and each night, holding them together keeping skin side out.  You will notice after first night that liquid resides in the dish.   This is OK since that’s what’s helping cure your fish.  After 3 days (or 4), rinse the fish to get rid of excess salt/sugar and dill.  Before serving, using a broad-blade sharp knife, slice at a 45 degree angle (as below) to get nice, thin slices.