Very fishy...

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks - you've probably heard about the colossal squid captured and deep frozen in Antarctica - then shipped to the New Zealand Museum for defrosting and dissection by an (excited) international team of scientists. They were broadcasting (pod-casting?) live on the net early last week -but every time I remembered to check in they were still in the "thawing"stage - which didn't really make for riveting viewing.

(Apparently the specimen's a girl. You can read all about it here.)

I've had a bit of an interest in huge squid since I was very young - (believing for awhile they were a fabled creature - like mermaids) although my father banished this misconception early on telling repeatedly the story of wagging school when he was a boy to go see two that had been washed up on the Kapiti Coast. A few years ago I read in National Geographic (my mum used to organise annual subscriptions for the Ger-Man's birthday) that numbers of the "Giant" variety were increasing exponentially and no-one knew exactly why. Scientists believed it could be due to rising sea temperatures.

But, aside from general squid interest, this whole "colossal" adventure has unleashed in me, a seemingly insatiable desire for calamari.

To be honest, seafood in Germany is, well, a completely different kettle of (um?) fish, to what it is in Australia. I so very, very much miss reef-fish; red emperor, rainbow trout, and also barramundi (although not quite to the same degree that I miss fresh tiger prawns, sand crab, and moreton bay bugs) and I'm afraid that smoked eel and Matjes are really no substitute.

We have a very good fishmonger in the food hall of the Department store (that is conveniently located a mere 50mtrs or so from our apartment building) so I do spend a fair bit of time gazing confusedly at the unfamiliar northern species (presented ever so invitingly on their bed of ice).
I even ask questions. I purchase and cook to instruction - and occasionally it's even nice - but it's not the same.

However, the fish counter also often have baby calamari and squid tubes (all under the name of "Tintenfisch"). And these DO TASTE THE SAME! And, compared to most local fish fare, they are cheap!

So today, being Friday, I decided to ignore the Ger-Man's protests (along the lines of "haven't we eaten enough? do we have to have it AGAIN???") and make some for the Schwierig-mutter.

I have two secrets to share when it comes to making succulently tender calamari; the first is milk, and the second is cooking time.

MY BASIC CALAMARI APPROACH:

Soak prepared calamari (eg rings, or small scored flat pieces + tentacles, etc) in milk (in the fridge) for at least an hour before cooking. (This completely negates any rubber band tendencies.) Some advise adding a few tablespoons of lemon juice -but this is optional. The milk soaking is not.

Then, drain, pat dry, coat in mixture of choice (my basic is cornflour mixed with salt & pepper, sometimes a few breadcrumbs too, occasionally for a change -some added five spice).

Heat oil (designed for high temperatures) in a fry-pan (1 cm deep is all that's really required if you're prepared to turn the calamari). When the oil is truly hot (some cookbooks describe this as "when a bread cube browns in 15 seconds") place individual pieces in the pan for a total period not exceeding 90 seconds. Drain well.

Serve immediately (with sliced lemon, aioli, fresh bread, salad and - if you're like the Caspi-Man - you'll be wanting a few "pommes" too ).