Mario Matassa shares his technique for cooking squid (calamari) on the barbecue – a real showstopper for seafood lovers
Serves 4
Preparation time 15 minutes
Barbecuing time 3 minutes
Ingredients:
• 1-2 fresh hot red chillies (depending on
how hot you like it)
• 1 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• juice of one lemon
• 4 long squid (calamari), cleaned
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Instructions:
1 First make the sauce by finely chopping the red chillies (if you prefer a milder sauce remove the seeds). Place the chopped chilli in a bowl and
add the sun-dried tomato paste, olive oil and the juice of the lemon. Stir everything together and set aside until needed.
2 Chop the squid into 2-3 pieces, season, then place over a hot barbecue. The squid should only take 2-3 minutes to cook. Don’t overcook it or
it will become tough.
3 Remove the squid from the grill and place it in a bowl. Drizzle over the sauce, mix well, then sprinkle with the parsley. Serve with plenty of crusty bread and a simple green salad.
TIP If you haven’t cooked squid before, it’s a good idea to practise first. You’ll find that it requires very precise cooking times.
Find more dishes and Mario Matassa’s feature on Italian barbecues here
You can find plenty more delicious Italian-inspired recipes here