Seafood that once seemed exotic has become available to many. In the supermarkets you can buy even cuttlefish. These cephalopods resemble squid in appearance and taste, but gourmets claim that their meat is more tender and satisfying. How to cook cuttlefish, yet not all housewives know, although in the Mediterranean countries even inexperienced cooks successfully cope with this task. The process of cooking these exotic mollusks is no more complicated than cooking squid, although it has its own characteristics.
Cooking Features
Cooking cuttlefish can not be called a difficult process, but without knowing its specifics, you should not take the case.
- Knowledge of some points will be required already at the stage of product selection. The fresher it is, the better. Experts do not recommend freezing these mollusks, but in frozen form they are presented on the shelves wider, so that in the absence of a choice, you can purchase a frozen product. The main thing is not to try to speed up the process of its thawing, immersing it in warm water or heating it in a microwave. It is better to give the cuttlefish the opportunity to thaw in the refrigerator or in cold water, without subjecting it to a sharp temperature drop. There is a lot of protein in it, which from such drops can change the structure, become rigid.
- You can cut the cuttlefish yourself. To do this, you need to remove the bone in the back, eyes, mouth, insides. Especially carefully you should get rid of the silver color of the bag filled with ink. In order not to stain hands, it is better to work with gloves, otherwise the skin will be difficult to wash off. Some use cuttlefish ink to make pasta or risotto. Only fresh ink is suitable for this. If you do not plan to use them on the same day, you can throw away the inkbag with a calm heart. Those who do not have much experience in the cutting of seafood, it is better to purchase already cut goods.
- The optimal size of the cuttlefish depends on what you want to cook with. For salads and main dishes it is better to take small samples, the meat of which is more tender. On the soup fit large individuals. They need to cook longer, but the broth of them turns out delicious.
- The cooking time of the cuttlefish depends on the size of the mollusks and the way they are cooked. Typically, small copies prepare 15-20 minutes, large - about half an hour.
The taste of cuttlefish strongly depends on the selected recipe and method of cooking. They can be served as a separate dish or used as ingredients in other dishes, such as seafood risotto.
How to cook cuttlefish
Composition:
- cuttlefish - 0.5 kg;
- onions - 100 g;
- bay leaf - 2 pcs .;
- allspice peas - 5 pcs .;
- Italian herbs, salt - to taste.
Method of preparation:
- In a saucepan, collect a half liter of water, put on fire.
- Prepare the cuttlefish by cleaning them, rinsing in running water and drying them with a napkin.
- If you want your shellfish to cook faster, cut them into small pieces.
- Peel the onion, cut it into 4 pieces.
- When water boils, add salt and add onions, spices.
- Dip the cuttlefish in the water.
- Cook on low heat for 15 minutes if the cuttlefish is cut into pieces, or 25-35 minutes if you cook them whole.
- Flip out in a colander, let it drain.
Boiled cuttlefish can be used to make salads. If you want to serve them separately as an independent snack, they need to be refilled. For this, it is necessary to mix lemon juice and olive oil in equal proportions, add to this mixture garlic passed through a press at the rate of 1 clove per 2 tablespoons of lemon-oil mixture.
How to cook cuttlefish in a pan
Composition:
- cuttlefish - 0.5 kg;
- garlic - 4 cloves;
- olive oil - 80 ml;
- dry white wine - 0, 2 l;
- salt, fresh parsley - to taste.
Method of preparation:
- Clean the cuttlefish, rinse, and dry with napkins. Cut into small pieces.
- Cut the garlic cloves into thin plates.
- Heat oil in a pan, put garlic in it and fry it for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the garlic from the pan, but do not throw it away.
- Put cuttlefish in garlic oil. Fry them over high heat without a lid until the liquid that has evolved from them is almost completely evaporated from the pan.
- Pour white wine on the cuttlefish, add salt. Simmer them in wine over medium heat until only one third of the alcohol remains in the pan.
- Put the cuttlefish on the dish. Pour the sauce in which the clams were stewed. Sprinkle with roasted garlic, finely chopped green parsley.
The cuttlefish cooked according to this recipe is a self-sufficient dish. It can be served as a hot or cold snack - it will be delicious anyway.
How to fry the cuttlefish
Composition:
- cuttlefish - 0.5 kg;
- lemon juice - 10 ml;
- soy sauce - 50 ml;
- olive oil - as required;
- salt, seasonings - to taste.
Method of preparation:
- Cut the prepared cuttlefish into small pieces.
- Mix the soy sauce with lemon juice and a tablespoon of olive oil.
- Add spices to taste and some salt. Such seasonings as black ground pepper, dried dill, basil, parsley, a mixture of Italian or Provencal herbs will do.
- Place pieces of cuttlefish in the sauce. Leave for half an hour.
- Heat the pan and pour oil on it.
- Cuttlefish, remove from the sauce, put in boiling oil. Stir them, stirring, over medium heat for 15 minutes.
Fried cuttlefish are well suited as a snack for beer, wine. With pleasure they are eaten by many and as an independent dish. It is not forbidden to serve a side dish. Fit rice, pasta.
How to put out cuttlefish with onions
Composition:
- cuttlefish - 0.5 kg;
- onions - 0, 5 kg;
- dry red wine - 0, 25 l;
- pine nuts - 20 g;
- olive oil - 50 ml;
- butter - 50 g;
- salt, spices - to taste.
Method of preparation:
- Mix wine with cuttlefish ink.
- Dip the sliced cuttlefish into the resulting mixture, leave for two hours.
- Chop onion, fry in a mixture of vegetable and olive oils until soft.
- Add cuttlefish by removing them from the marinade. Fry them with onions for 10 minutes.
- Mix nuts and add to marinade, mix.
- Pour marinade, simmer the clams in it for another 10 minutes.
Serve the cuttlefish cooked according to this recipe with the sauce in which they were stewed. The dish has a specific look, but its taste will not seem too exotic to you.
How to cook stuffed cuttlefish in the oven
Composition:
- cuttlefish - 1 kg;
- fresh champignons - 0, 25 kg;
- onions - 0, 3 kg;
- hard cheese - 0, 25 kg;
- cream - 0, 5 l;
- salt, seasonings - to taste;
- vegetable oil - as needed.
Method of preparation:
- Wash mushrooms, blot with a napkin, cut into small cubes.
- Peel and finely chop the onion.
- Chop cheese on a coarse grater.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan, put onion in it and fry it on low heat so that it becomes soft and almost transparent.
- Add the mushrooms. Fry them together with onions until excess moisture evaporates from the pan.
- Mix the mushrooms with the cheese, mix well.
- Add salt, spices, mix again.
- Fill the carcass cuttlefish with the resulting mass. Fasten the edges with toothpicks so that the stuffing does not fall out.
- Put the cuttlefish in a baking dish.
- Mix cream with a small amount of salt, seasoning. Fill them with cuttlefish.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, place in it a form with cuttlefish.
- Bake the cuttlefish in the oven for 30 minutes.
When serving, it is recommended to decorate the dish with tomato slices and fresh greens.
How to cook cuttlefish on the grill
Composition:
- cuttlefish - 0.5 kg;
- salad - 100 g;
- tomato - 150 g;
- garlic - 1 clove;
- fresh basil - 5 g;
- lemon - 0, 5 pcs .;
- olive oil - 60 ml;
- a mixture of peppers, salt - to taste.
Method of preparation:
- Cut the tomato into large cubes.
- Coarsely chop the salad.
- Squeeze juice out of lemon, mix with two spoons of oil.
- Squeeze garlic, mix with sauce.
- Add salt to the sauce, seasonings, mix.
- Finely chop the basil and mix with half the sauce.
- Season this salad with tomato and lettuce leaves.
- Start the prepared cuttlefish with a salad. Fasten edges with skewers so that the filling remains inside.
- Lubricate the cuttlefish with the remaining sauce.
- Place it on an oiled grill grate.
- Cook 7-10 minutes.
When serving, you can decorate the dish with lemon and tomato slices. Put it better on a dish covered with lettuce. A good addition to this snack will be soy sauce.
Knowing the basic principles of cooking cuttlefish, you can make of them all sorts of dishes according to author's recipes. This is a good way to surprise the guests and to please the household with new snacks.
