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Chilli Salt & Pepper Squid with Smacked Cucumber Salad | DonalSkehan.com, If you've never tried squid, THIS is the recipe for you!
  • light-meals

Chilli Salt & Pepper Squid with Smacked Cucumber Salad

April 09

This little dish might sound complicated but trust me, it’s a good one! It is so simple and quick to prepare and the results are finger licking good. I think seafood only needs the simplest of ingredients to emphasise it’s flavour and that is definitely the case with the salt, pepper and chilli in this squid recipe.

  • serves Serves 4
  • time 30 mins + marinade time

Method

  1. 1. To make the smashed cucumber salad, place the cucumber on a chopping board and smash several times with a rolling pin, then cut in half, scoop out the seeds and cut into thin batons. Place the vinegar in a serving bowl and stir in the sugar to dissolve. Add the cucumber batons and onion wedges and toss to coat. Cover with cling film and for at least 10 minutes, or up to 8 hours in the fridge is fine.
  2. 2. When ready to serve, heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to 190˚C/375˚F. Cut the body pouch of each squid open along one side and score the inner side with the tip of a small, sharp knife into a fine diamond pattern. Then cut each pouch lengthways in half, then across into 5cm/2 inch pieces. Separate the tentacles into pairs.
  3. 3. Put the cornflour, semolina, paprika and a teaspoon of salt into a plastic freezer bag. Add the prepared squid and then toss to coat. Tip out on to a tray, knocking off any excess and leave for 1-2 minutes so that the cornflour mixture becomes slightly damp. This will give a crispier finish. When the oil is hot enough, which is when it sizzles up fiercely when you drop in a small cube of bread, fry the squid in batches for 1-2 minutes to get the most golden crunchiness.
  4. 4. Meanwhile, heat a little more oil in a wok or frying pan. Quickly sauté the chilli and spring onions for a couple of minutes until sizzling. Season to taste. Drain the squid on kitchen paper and then tip onto a platter. Sprinkle over the chilli mixture and arrange bowls of the smacked cucumber salad at both ends of the platter to serve.

Ingredients

For the squid:

vegetable oil, for deep-frying plus a little extra

450g medium-sized squid, cleaned

2 tbsp cornflour

3 tbsp semolina

1 tbsp ground paprika

1 medium-hot red chilli, thinly sliced on the diagonal

2 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal

For the Smacked Cucumber Salad:

1 baby cucumber

4 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp caster sugar

1 small red onion, cut into very fine wedges

salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

You'll Need

Chopping board

Rolling pin

Serving bowl

Deep fat fryer

Freezer bag

Baking tray

Wok/frying pan

Kitchen paper

Serving platter