CTN: Garlicky Squid

I have never, ever cooked a squid before. I have been cooking consistently since 1978, and I have never cooked a single squid. I have eaten a lot of squid. Some of it has been horrible, some of it has been decent, and some (like the Calamari at The Prado) has been amazing. I was very worried that my first attempt at making squid would end up like the horrible squid I have had. I was pretty sure this would turn out like little garlicky rubber-bands.

Which is the reason I picked this recipe. While deceptively simple, I figured it would have a huge downside if not done correctly.

The seafood market had both "tubes and tentacles" and "steaks." I elected "tubes and tentacles." Knowing that many in my family would not eat this, I also picked up a loaf of fish market bread. Fish markets always have the best sourdough.

Here are my ingredients. Not all the squid is depicted here (some of it made a break for it and swam down the drain while I was rinsing the squid) but it is a good representation of tubes and tentacles. And I decided not to buy fresh herbs, but simply use the "floppy" herbs that came in my CSA bag. One of those floppy herbs was parsley. I really don't know what the other one is.

Here is a picture of the little rings of squid bubbling away in their garlicky, buttery sauce. Yum.

And here it is plated with the Israeli couscous and a side salad.

Natalie and Cassandra don't like calamari. They ate the couscous with the sauce, which they loved, plus each tried the rings of squid. They still don't like squid. The bread was, as expected, great.

Pete had gone out to eat with Sam so he wasn't hungry. He didn't even taste the squid, but did complain about how the house smelled like Kings Fish House, and opened all the doors.

So I was the only person who ate this meal as it was supposed to be eaten. It was decent. The tentacles were the best, because all the little flavor bits in the sauce clung to the tubes and stuck in the little crevices. If this was entirely tentacles, sauce, and couscous, I think I would have liked it a lot. The tubes were disappointing. At least they didn't taste like rubber bands. But they didn't really taste like anything, actually.

So here is the recipe. It comes together really fast, so if you are going to have sides (salad, bread) you need to get them ready before you start on the squid:

Buttery, Garlicky, Spicy Calamari with Israeli Couscous


1 1/2 cups Israeli couscous
2 1/2 T olive oil
1 1/2# squid, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and patted dry
3 T unsalted butter
2 T chopped fresh parsley
1 T chopped fresh basil (or other "floppy" herb)
A whole lot of red pepper flakes (probably put in 1/2 teaspoon)
3 minced garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh lemon juice to taste

Cook couscous in a large pot of boiling salted water until it is tender. This took about 4 minutes for the couscous I bought, even though the bag said 6 minutes. Drain, toss with 1/2 T olive oil, and keep warm.

In a large skillet, over high heat, heat the remaining oil until it begins to smoke. Add the squid, butter, herbs, pepper flakes, and garlic. Saute this for about 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. The squid will be opaque when it is cooked. DON'T OVERCOOK or you will have rubber bands. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

You are supposed to add the couscous to the pan at this point and toss it with the squid and sauce. That probably would have been the best way to do this, but with squid-naysayers in the house, we had them separate.