The ways of preparing squid are very large because they are used for culinary purposes in mostly all the world's kitchens. Therefore, do not stay solely in the preparation of fried and stuffed squid, but try something new too. Surely you will not be disappointed! In the conversational language, they are also called "calamari", is the most common edible sea cephalopods. In tropical and warm waters all over the world live hundreds of different types of squid, but only some species are used for culinary purposes.

Squid meat is very tasty and suitable for preparing a wide range of dishes. For culinary purposes, hulls, hunters and ink are used. Squid dishes are especially popular in southern Europe and the Mediterranean, where they are also used for the preparation of heavily seasoned soups and stews. In the fishing or grocery store, we can buy fresh or frozen squid in all seasons. When buying fresh squid we have to take care they have a pleasant smell and to feel damp meat. Usually, we buy already cleaned squid, but without major problems, we can clean them ourselves. When cleaning, we just have to remove the hard "spine-like" bone from the inside and care not to damage the ink bags inside the hull. The ink that is squeezed out of the bag can later be used for staining and improving sauces, rice, and so on.

Like all cephalopods, even squid is cooked quickly with a strong heat or slowly in soups and stews. The possibilities for preparing squid are really great, as they can be filled, baked in a pan or oven, cut into circles and chopped, add to the sauce for pasta, soups, and risotto, etc. While I mostly like to buy them fresh, then fill them with cheese and prosciutto which are then baked in a pan on a thin layer of vegetable oil my girls love them fried. That's why a few days ago when I finally bought some fresh ones, I simply cleaned them, cut into circles, dried them, rolled in a plain flour and fried them in oil. When they were done, I put some salt on them, and a bit of lemon juice... Yummyyy... Because they were a bit bigger than usual, I think that the cleaning took me way too much time, while we ate them in just a couple of minutes. But it was worth it, and I must admit it was a delicious treat for all. Give it a go, and you will see that the simple squid is way undervalued. Buon appetite.