A light refreshing seafood salad made with squid, fresh lemon, celery, red onion, roasted peppers, garlic and parsley.
It's sweltering outside, the temperature in New York is expected to hit over a 100 degrees today. We are getting some work done to my house and unfortunately I have no AC at the moment so I wanted to make something cold and refreshing without heating up the house and this cold calamari salad is exactly what I was craving. If you buy your squid cleaned, this takes minutes to make and is easier than you think.
Squid doesn't take long to cook, if you overcook it it gets rubbery so be sure to keep a close eye on it and have an ice bath ready before you cook it.
Some variations to this, you could add cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives or hot pepper. Cilantro and lime instead of parsley would give this more of a Latin flair. Enjoy!
Chilled Calamari Salad with Lemon and Parsley
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Serving Size: just under a cup • Old Points: 1 pts • Points+: 3 pts
Calories: 121.6 • Fat: 1.7 g • Carb: 7.9 g • Fiber: 0.9 g • Protein: 18.3 g • Sugar: 1.2
Sodium: 66 mg (without salt)
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup red onion, minced
- 1/2 cup celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced (no stems)
- 1 clove garlic, sliced
- 1 1/2 lemons
- 1 1/4 tsp red wine vinegar
- salt and fresh pepper to taste
- 1 lb fresh squid, tube and tentacles cleaned
Rinse squid and slice tubes into 1/2 inch rings. Leave the tentacles whole and set aside. Prepare a bowl of water with ice.
In a medium bowl combine onion, garlic, celery, red peppers, parsley, lemon juice, vinegar, salt and fresh pepper.
Bring a medium pot filled with water and a pinch of salt to a boil. Add calamari all at once and cook until tender yet cooked, (I test it by tasting a ring) about 45 - 60 seconds. Quickly drain when cooked and add to the ice bath until cool, 4 - 5 minutes.
Combine squid with the salad and toss well. Taste for salt and add additional seasoning and lemon juice if needed. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour.
Makes about 3 1/2 cups.
I love that fish plate. adorable! where is it from?
ReplyDeleteI've never cooked calamari and only eaten it fried, but this looks wonderful. And love, love, love the fish plate!
ReplyDeleteWhat is the indicator that the calamari is cooked? Like if its not cooked yet, how do you know? This looks delicious, by the way! I LOVEEEE calamari!!
ReplyDeleteMy mom picked it up for me last year, I finally got to use it! I'll have to ask her where she bought it.
ReplyDeleteI do not care much for squid and I am not sure I can get it here in Mississippi, but I did grap another Chicken recipe that I saw. Thanks and I love your blog.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds WONDERFUL! Perfect for Houston summers; I can't wait to make this.
ReplyDeleteThis looks simple, healthy and refreshing. I love dishes like this. They are perfect for summer:)
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in the upper Midwestern US, thousands of miles from a sea or ocean, I would have never dreamt of eating cold squid, but I've grown and this looks tasty, especially inthe hot weather
ReplyDeleteI should add this is better then next day! Had the rest today, the flavors really get in to the calamari.
ReplyDeleteDo you have any tips for buying squid? My husband and I love calamari, and I'd love to try this recipe out! Thanks! P.S. Love your blog!
ReplyDeleteBuy it at a high end butcher and you should get the "a" grade used for restautants cheaper vendors use the bait box kind. Even if prev. frozen it is good. Try to find a source from Monterery, Ca. The best!
DeleteI prefer to buy it cleaned already, then I just rinse it, cut it and cook it.
ReplyDeleteHow much parsley? There are no units :-)
ReplyDeleteWhen do you add the sliced garlic? It sounds yummy!
ReplyDelete1/4 cup parsley, add the garlic with the onions. This really marinates best overnight if you want to make this for a crowd, you can double it and make it the night before.
ReplyDeleteI prefer using cilantro rather than the parsley. Great flavor. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGreat
ReplyDeleteLinette....bring water to a boil,drop in squid,time 1 minute and take them out.they cook extremely fast.
ReplyDeleteI love this recipe. thank you
ReplyDeleteThis is great.Can't make enough. Added a tablespoon of Olive oil to offset acid in vinagar but as is is best I've ever ate. Tip. Use a pasta cooker to dip raw calamari boiling water for only 1 minute then bathe in ice water. It comes out tender. cooked it an extra 20 seconds the first time and you can tell it was getting tough.
ReplyDeleteCould you use imitation crab meat instead of the squid?
ReplyDeleteGood morning Gina, I featured this recipe on my blog today, it looks great! Thanks for allowing me to share. Here is the link http://carriesexperimentalkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/03/week-11-seafood-frenzy-friday.html
ReplyDeleteIf and when do you add the tentacles? I don't see them mentioned in the recipe except to set aside but I see them in the picture.
ReplyDeleteOh my word.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in an Italian neighborhood, and "fish salad" was something you'd often find at some delis. Squid, salad shrimp, maybe some mussels. And sadly, also, fake crab meat. What's sad about the fake crab? I developed a wheat allergy and I can't eat any of the salad if it's got fake crab in it.
This tastes JUST like the stuff I used to buy. I even added some salad shrimp - wonderful.
You DO want to buy your squid already cleaned. Not for this recipe, but recently I bought "uncleaned" squid and I am not squirmish about a lot of food things, but yeah... that was gross. If you can only find pre-cut rings, those would work great. If you're not a lemon fan, switch out the lemon for more vinegar or some white balsamic, etc. If you like fried calamari... do not fear this recipe. 60 seconds, ice bath, and then into the dressing... the squid will turn out perfect.
I made this today using a bag of mixed frozen seafood from Trader Joe's (contained shrimp, calamari, and bay scallops). It was delicious and so refreshing since it's so hot out. Would also be nice with some orzo and avocado.
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