Calamari (squid) is very widely popular seafood in Russia. It is sold fresh, frozen, canned and used in various salads and entrees. As I discovered, the most known squid dish in North America is deep fried calamari with marinara sauce. In my country, however, deep frying is not a very popular method of cooking. When we prepare a calamari dish, we are more likely to cook squids very briefly in boiling water and then use in salads, stuff the whole squid and bake it in the oven or lightly fry calamari ringlets on a frying pan without any batter or breading.
In the States fresh\frozen calamari are sold cleaned or whole. Cleaned calamari are available at Fresh Market and Whole Foods. While buying cleaned calamari will save you lots of time and effort, buying them whole is much more economical. Whole frozen calamari are available, among other places, at the Commissary (frozen seafood section) for less than $5 per 3lb box. Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to handle them: How to Clean Calamari.
You can clean calamari 24 h prior cooking and keep them in the fridge in a covered container.
How to Cook Calamari
Many salad recipes are calling for cooked calamari. Here is how to cook them:
Rinse calamari under cold running water and cook them in a pot of boiling salted water , uncovered, until just opaque, 20 to 25 seconds (if you cook them longer they will get tough and rubbery and shrink so much that you will be left with next to nothing). Drain in a colander and immediately transfer to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking. When cooled, drain and pat dry.
Cooked calamari can be refrigerated up to 3 days. (They never last that long in our house though. Frankly, this is my favorite way to eat calamari: just as they are, so that nothing interfere with their natural flavor.)
Creamy Calamari Salad
This salad is very quick and easy to prepare if you have cleaned and cooked calamari on hand. It can be served as an appetizer or a main course when accompanied with crusty baguette.
Ingredients:
10 calamari, cooked and cooled; 2 hard-boiled eggs; salt\black pepper to taste;
3 Tbs Light Mayonnaise, 1 Tbs olive oil.
Cut
cooked calamari into thin ringlets, add chopped eggs. Combine mayo,
olive oil, salt and pepper, add to calamari and eggs and mix well. Refrigerate for
at least 40 minutes. This salad can be made up to 24 h ahead of time.
***********************************************************************************
Imitation Crab (also known as "Krab" in the US) is very popular as a snack and often used in salads. It goes great with eggs, canned sweet corn and mayo dressing. If you do not have any other ingredients, just add those three to chopped crab meat and you'll have a nice salad. You can make it ahead of time (just don't add the dressing until right before serving) and refrigerate in a covered container for a couple of days. Here are some salad recipes that appeared in Russia in the 90th, soon after "krab" had found its way from Japan to Europe.
"Sea King" Salad
Ingredients for 2 servings: Imitation Crab - 7 oz, hard-boiled eggs - 2,
tomato (small) - 1, light mayonnaise - 1,5 Tbs, olive oil - 1 tsp, salt, fresh basil,
cooked shrimp - 8, red caviar - 1 Tbs.
De-seed tomato. Chop "krab", eggs, tomato and basil finely, add salt and
combine them together. Add mayo and olive oil, mix carefully (do not over-mix).
Chill for 15 minutes, divide into two portions and decorate with shrimp and
caviar.
***********************************************************************************
"Starfish" Salad
Ingredients: 1 pack (14 oz) Imitation Crab Meat, 5 hard-boiled eggs, 5 Tbs canned
corn, 0,5 small onion, 1 Tbs white vinegar, 3 Tbs cooked long-grain rice.
For dressing: about 0,5 cup light mayonnaise, 1 Tbs olive oil, a pinch of salt and
freshly grounded pepper medley.
For decoration: Imitation Crab Sticks, parsley, black olives.
To make dressing: mix mayo, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Chop onion, put it in a small bowl, add vinegar and leave for 10 minutes, drain.
Chop imitation crab meat and eggs. Add corn, rice, onion and dressing.
Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. Arrange salad on a plate in a star shape.
Decorate with thinly sliced imitation crab sticks, black olives and parsley.
***********************************************************************************
"Mermaid" Salad
Ingredients: Imitation Crab Sticks - 7 oz; cooked shrimp - 7 oz;
Jarlsberg cheese (grated) - 5 Tbs; hard-boiled eggs - 3; cucumber (small) - 1.
Dressing: 0,5 cup light mayonnaise, 1 Tbs olive oil, a pinch of salt, 1 garlic clove.
Cut crab sticks across into small pieces, cut medium shrimp in half / large shrimp
into 3 pieces. Grate eggs and cheese, cube cucumber and add all to the seafood
mixture. Add dressing and mix well. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Cut garlic clove in half and rub inside of a salad bowl with it. Put chilled salad into
prepared bowl. Serve with crusty baguette.
;
