Seven Fish Dishes #6: Calamari

Calamari is the next dish up on our Seven Fish Dishes adventure. What exactly are we talking about?

'Calamari' is the fancy name for...squid!

Well, maybe it's not as big as this giant specimen from the Melbourne museum. (Thanks, Wikipedia.)

 Actually, although there are 300 different species, most squid eaten look more like this:

Fishermen will catch these - and bite them on the head to subdue them. Weird.

The good news is that calamari, cooked quickly, are some of the most delicate seafood you'll ever put in your mouth. Cook them a long time, and you might as well gnaw on a rubber band. They're reasonably priced, especially if you buy them from an Oriental foods store.

CALAMARI STIR-FRY

frozen calamari - 1-2 pounds  - thawed and sliced
   (remember: we're serving 8 people, but this is just one of several courses)

olive oil
2 green onions, sliced
1 green or red pepper, chopped
1 tomato, chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon garlic
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Got everything ready? This won't take long. Coat your pan to sizzling with olive oil, then toss everything but the cilantro in. Stir-fry approx. 3 minutes, until the calamari is tender to the bite, and the vegetables are still bright and somewhat crisp. Sprinkle cilantro on top, spritz on the lemon juice, and serve with rice. Yum.

(For a whole aquarium of calamari recipes, go here to the ifood network -- lots to choose from.)

Tomorrow: the Seven Fish Dishes finale!