Kiwi-Marinated Squid with Chermoula Dressing
A unique kiwi marinated squid recipe, finished with a pungent chermoula dressing. The inviting Australian inspired seafood dish is gorgeous cooked on the BBQ.
Introduction
Marinating with kiwi is an antipodean thing, a tip picked up and handed on via my husband’s travels to Australia many moons ago. The fruit contains an enzyme that tenderizes in a way that nothing else does and it’s particularly effective with squid that can have a tendency to toughen up on cooking. The squid doesn’t taste remotely of kiwi either, just in case you were wondering…!
I serve this barbecued squid with a chermoula dressing – chermoula is a pungent marinade from Tunisia and it works particularly well with seafood. It keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days in a bowl covered with a layer of cling film pressed on to the surface.
Ingredients
| 2 | large squid, cleaned and left whole |
| 2 | kiwi fruit, peeled and roughly chopped |
| Olive oil, for drizzling | |
| Sea salt flakes, for sprinkling, and freshly ground black pepper | |
| For the chermoula dressing: | |
| 5 tbsp | olive oil |
| Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon | |
| 3 cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 1½ tbsp | ground coriander |
| 1 tsp | smoked paprika |
| 1 tsp | ground cumin |
| 1 tsp | ground ginger |
| A small bunch | of coriander, roughly chopped |
| Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper |
Essential kit
You will need a food processor or a stick blender in a jug.
Method
First make the dressing. Put everything into a food processor, or use a stick blender in a jug, and process until smooth. Season with salt and black pepper. Leave at room temperature for an hour or so, if possible, to allow the flavours to mingle.
Prepare the squid. Remove the ‘wings’ from each squid and set aside. Slice each body down one side and open out so that it is flat, then cut in half, giving you a total of 4 body pieces (plus the 4 wings). Using a sharp knife, very lightly score all over the surface of the body pieces and wings in a diagonal pattern. Put the prepared squid into a large, flat dish, along with any tentacles.
Put the kiwi into a jug and purée with a stick blender, then pour on to the squid, spreading all over. Leave to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes. Thread the squid (body pieces, wings and tentacles too) on to skewers (use a few skewer crossed over in a diamond shape to keep the squid pieces flat whilst they cook). Drizzle a little oil all over and sprinkle with a few sea salt flakes and a grind of black pepper.
Cook over a very hot barbecue for just a minute or two on each side, then serve immediately with the chermoula dressing to drizzle over.
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