Squid Salad With Gherkin Harissa Salsa

There are wide arrays of salads that you can choose and prepare to make your eating habit more pleasurable and enjoyable. Salads need not be boring and a good variety will take you to a new level of adventure with your palate by incorporating new ingredients. In our featured recipe, the calamari salad with gherkin harissa salsa, we will take your taste buds to enjoy the mixed flavor of calamari which is made out of squid, veggies and the unique zest of gherkin harissa salsa all in one salad.

To start off, the calamari is a popular appetizer where its name, when translated in Italy, means squid. It is also famous as a squid dish in Mediterranean area and has different versions as fried squid to some parts of Asia. The squid is a cousin of octopus and it has 10 tentacles which are edible. The body of the squid is the main meat that can be stuffed as whole or can be cut into rings and flatten into portions. The taste of the squid is mild and sweet with a little nutty flavor. When pan fried it gives out a chewy and firm texture. It also has vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) that reduces migraines, copper for the storing, absorbing and metabolizing iron in our body that stimulates red blood cell production and a good source of proteins for healthy skin, nails and hair. Pan fried squid has a favorable smell that is appetizing in this salad.

The Gherkin and harissa salsa is a good partner for this salad. Harissa is an aromatic hot sauce or pastes which the main ingredients are roasted red chili peppers, olive oil, and garlic but these also vary according to regions or countries. It may include some other ingredients such as cumin, coriander, caraway, and lemon to name a few. It is frequently used in North African and the Middle East cuisines. Once you tasted it you will keep on using it while gherkin is a young cucumber that has a sweet and crispier bite to it. It is low in fats and calories ideal for weight management.

It also has potassium for the aid of healthy blood pressure, beta-carotene and vitamin A that helps support good immunity by producing white blood cells that in turn protects from viruses and bacteria, and vitamin K for preventing blood clots and promotes healthy bones. Overall, Calamari salad with harissa salsa is a low carb healthy meal packed with all the nutrients good for our body and has the entire wonderful flavor that a salad can have. With our recipe, you can easily make this tasty salad as we will guide you step by step along the way. Have it a try and experience the taste of this healthy salad.

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Squid Salad With Gherkin Harissa Salsa

Prep 20 mins

Cook 15 mins

Total 35 mins

Author Lockie Dang

Yield 2

Ingredients

• 1 lb (0.5 kg) squids/calamari
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup baby leaves
• 1 small Spanish onion thinly sliced
• 1 tomato sliced
• 1 lemon cut into wedges

For the salsa

• 1 lemon juice
• 1 handful of parsley leaves finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 1 teaspoon harissa paste
• 1 tablespoon caper
• 1 tablespoon chopped gherkin
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch of ground black pepper

Instructions

1. To make salsa, mix all the ingredients together, stir well

2. Prepare the squid, clean the bodies, the tentacles and the fins, then slice down the bodies along the natural grooves

3. Lay the squid body flat on the board, outside down, slash the squid from one large end corner diagonally to the pointed end; don’t cut through it. The lines should be 1cm apart. Crosshatch in the other direction, again at a diagonal

4. Add sea salt to the bodies, tentacles, and fins. Put them on a paper towel to draw off the water

5. Arrange the baby salad leaves, sliced tomatoes, sliced onions on plates

6. Place a frying pan on a fierce heat and get it very hot. Lightly rub the oil to the bodies, the tentacles, and the fins

7. Place the bodies on the pan, crosshatched-side down, ensure none of the squids are overlapping. After 1-2 minutes the squid bodies begin to lift. If they do not, slightly help them by bending them over with your fingers .they roll into tub shapes. When the squid is brown and a delicious smell drifting from the pan, lift it out

8. Flip over the tentacles and the fins to the pan, sear and cook until brown and fragrant

9. Lay the squid tubes, tentacles, fins on the salad, drizzle salsa on top, and lemon wedges on the side, then serve

Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Serving
Calories 319
% Daily Value
Total Fat 12.1 g		19%
	Saturated Fat 1.8 g	9%
Cholesterol 532 mg		177%
Sodium 848 mg		35%
Total Carbohydrates 14.5 g		5%
	Dietary Fiber 2.8 g	11%
	Sugars 5.1 g
Protein 36.6 g		73%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

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