Salt and Pepper Squid Recipe
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Recipe Overview
Preparation time: 10 minutes plus 3 hours marinating time
Cooking time: 2 minutes per batch
Serves: 2-4 as an entree
Ingredients Needed
- 500g/1.1lbs squid tubes
- 3 teaspoons bicarb
- 3 teaspoons sugar
- 70ml/2.5ozs lemon juice
- Oil for deep frying
To Dip
- 45g/1.6ozs plain all purpose flour
- 45g/1.6ozs cornflour/cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 - Start this 3.5 hours (or the night) before you want to eat it. Wash and pat dry the squid tubes with paper towels and then cut reach tube open on one side. Pat the inside of the squid tube dry with paper towels and remove any sticky membrane by pulling on it. Take a small knife and cut a fine hatch pattern on the squid on the inside side of the tube. Cut into strips and place in a medium sized bowl.
Step 2 - Add bicarb and sugar to the bowl and then add the lemon juice. Allow it to fizz and then stir the marinade so that it is evenly distributed. Cover and place in the fridge for 3 hours stirring twice during that time to distribute the marinade.
Step 3 - When the time is up, drain the squid of the liquid in a sieve under cold, running water for 45 seconds, tossing the squid with your hands to ensure that there is no bicarb left hiding anywhere. The squid will already feel different and much softer. Drain well and lay out double layers of paper towels and place each piece of squid on them and pat dry.
Step 4 - Heat a cast iron pot and add 2 inches of oil (or use a deep fryer) and heat to 160C/320F.
Step 5 - Whisk the flour, cornflour, baking powder, black pepper, salt and garlic powder together in a medium sized bowl and add a third of the squid mixture into the bowl, coating each piece well.
Step 6 - Add each piece to the hot oil individually hatch side up and stir the squid gently in the oil to ensure that it is cooked evenly. Cook for 2 minutes total. Drain on paper towels. Season with more salt and pepper to taste if desired or keep as is. Serve with tartare sauce and a wedge of lemon.
Personal Note
Something very odd happened on the day that I made this squid. I had just finished testing this and writing it up when at 6:15pm. I was about to give myself an early mark and turn off my computer when I received an email confirming a restaurant booking in half an hour's time at 6:45pm.
Except I had not made a restaurant booking.
"How odd," I said to myself. I just emailed them back and said that I hadn't made the booking and wasn't sure why I was receiving the email. I didn't really think much of it and continued on my night.
Around 8:45pm, I was sitting in the bedroom recording a voiceover for a reel and I received a call. It was the manager of the restaurant that the booking was for. He started apologising and saying that the he was very sorry and that the restaurant usually has higher standards.
I thought to myself "This is a bit much for an email," but then he kept explaining about how the meal this evening was really not an indication of how it should have been and how his staff had explained that they were embarrassed about everything that had happened.
"Can you tell me in your words what happened?" I asked thoroughly confused and quite honestly I wanted to know what on earth was going on - give a girl some tea at least. He just repeated himself, without any new information so I stopped him and clarified who he thought he was speaking to. Sure enough it was me - he had my name, email address and phone number.
Then a thought occurred to me. Perhaps someone was impersonating me and trying to get special treatment out of a restaurant or a free meal. I don't know why they would have used my email address to do it but the whole situation seemed very odd. I started to get worried that I was now a victim of identity theft. He said that he was going to try and track down this couple and would call me back. I don't know why they would have chosen me because my face is easily found online but who knew what was going on?
He called me back the next day and explained that there was another Lorraine Elliott that was actually staying in the hotel. She was from the UK and had booked the table at the front counter of the restaurant. The hostess that booked them in must have seen my name in there from as I had dined at some of their other restaurants and auto filled it in. This was really silly because you would confirm a phone number as my name isn't that unusual! As for me, I let out a huge sigh of relief knowing that I wasn't the subject of identify theft.
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever been or known a victim of identity theft? Do you like salt and pepper squid?