White Beans With Baby Squid Food

GRILLED BABY SQUID

Steps:

• Start a charcoal or wood fire or preheat a gas grill; the fire should be quite hot (on a gas grill, as hot as you can get it) and the rack no more than 4 inches from the heat source and preferably less. Or preheat a heavy pan over high heat (and turn on an exhaust fan if you have one) for about 5 minutes.
• If you need to clean the squid, pull off the head and tentacles and separate them by cutting just behind the head; save the tentacles and discard the head. Rinse out the inside of the bodies and dry well.
• Sprinkle the squid with coarse salt and toss them lightly with a tablespoon or two of olive oil. If you are grilling, skewer the squid. Grill or pan-grill the squid quickly, about 1 minute per side; they should brown nicely but remain moist inside.
• Put the squid on a plate. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and sprinkle with lemon juice or vinegar and a bit more salt. Serve immediately.
• Grilled Baby Squid, Japanese Style
• Here the grill is requisite, because the soy sauce coating would burn on a griddle: After cleaning the squid, marinate them briefly in a mixture of 1/4 cup soy sauce and 2 tablespoons mirin (or 1 tablespoon honey mixed with 1 tablespoon white wine). Grill and garnish with toasted sesame seeds (page 596). (Black sesame seeds are more commonly used here, and they look nice against the white squid, so if you can find them, by all means use them. Look in Japanese, Chinese, or Indian stores.)

WHITE BEANS WITH SQUID AND BROKEN NOODLES

Steps:

• Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, and salt it. Meanwhile, put half the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. A minute later, add the beans and their liquid. Bring to a boil, stirring, and add squid, along with some salt and pepper. Reduce heat to a simmer, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally.
• When water boils, cook the noodles until they are barely tender, about 5 minutes. Drain, and add them to the simmering beans. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the squid and noodles are tender, adding a little liquid if necessary. (Do not add liquid prematurely -- the squid will produce a lot on its own.)
• When just about done, add garlic. Cook it just long enough to take the edge off its rawness. Spoon the mixture into 4 dishes, garnishing with parsley and sprinkling with remaining olive oil.

GRILLED CALAMARI WITH WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• Place beans in large saucepan. Pour enough water over beans to cover by 3 inches. Bring to boil. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 1 hour. Add onion, thyme, and bay leaf to beans; simmer until beans are tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Drain. Discard onion, thyme, and bay leaf; return beans to saucepan.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in small skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until tender, about 4 minutes. Stir shallots into beans. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Rewarm over medium-low heat, stirring and adding more water to moisten if necessary, before serving.)
• Place calamari tentacles in medium bowl. Cut calamari bodies lengthwise in half. Using sharp knife, score bodies at 1/2-inch intervals in lattice pattern (do not cut through). Add to bowl. Add 2 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, and garlic; toss to coat. Let stand 1 hour.
• Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Drain calamari; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill just until slightly curled at edges, about 30 seconds per side.
• Stir parsley into warm beans. Divide beans among 6 plates. Top with calamari. Drizzle remaining 3 tablespoons oil over. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper.