Charred Padrón Chiles And Squid Salad Recipes

SALAD OF MARINATED CHARRED SQUID WITH CANNELLINI BEANS, ROCKET, AND CHILE

Steps:

• Try to get your fishmonger to skin and gut the squid for you. Score the squid lightly in a casual criss-cross fashion. Set it aside while you get a griddle pan very, very hot. You can also use a wok or the barbecue.
• Season the squid lightly with salt and pepper just before cooking, then add it to the pan. After a minute, it should be nicely charred, so turn it over and cook for a further minute. Remove the squid from the pan and set aside.
• Heat up the cannellini beans and sprinkle them into a bowl. Add the sliced chiles to the bowl with the rocket, lemon juice, and olive oil, and season. Cut the squid at irregular angles and toss it in with the rest of the ingredients. A good drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil over the top will finish it off nicely.

CHARRED PADRóN CHILES AND SQUID SALAD

Steps:

• Whisk serrano chile, olive oil, lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar in a small bowl to combine; season vinaigrette with salt and pepper. Very thinly slice 2 Padrón chiles into rings and add to vinaigrette. Let sit 10 minutes.
• Heat 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Pat squid dry with a paper towel; sprinkle with Aleppo-style pepper and season with salt and pepper. Cook, undisturbed, until bottom side is golden brown, about 1 minute. Toss squid and continue to cook, tossing often, until cooked through, about 1 minute longer. Transfer to a medium bowl and wipe out skillet.
• Heat remaining 1 tsp. vegetable oil in skillet and cook remaining Padrón chiles, tossing occasionally, until blistered and browned in spots and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer chiles to bowl with squid; add vinaigrette with sliced chiles, cilantro, and basil and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

PICKLED PADRON PEPPERS

Steps:

• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place peppers in the skillet; cook and stir until peppers are shiny and lightly blistered, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer whole hot peppers to 1 quart mason jar and press down.
• Combine white vinegar, sugar, garlic, black peppercorns, and red pepper flakes in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, remove from heat. Pour mixture over peppers into mason jar, leaving about 1/2-inch head space. Screw on 2-piece top; let seal over 24 hours.

THAI-STYLE SQUID AND CUCUMBER SALAD

Steps:

• Whisk lime juice, garlic, fish sauce, brown sugar, 1/4 cup oil, and 1/2 tsp. salt in a large bowl. Add cucumber, chiles, and peanuts and toss to coat. Set aside.
• Make sure squid is as dry as possible, then toss with remaining 1 1/2 tsp. salt. Separate bodies from tentacles.
• Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large cast-iron skillet until smoking. Sear half of the tentacles (don't try to do more than half-you don't want to crowd the pan), turning once halfway through, until lightly charred and opaque, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining tentacles, adding more oil if needed. Add a little more oil, then sear half of the bodies, turning once and picking up with tongs so that any liquid that has accumulated inside bodies can pour off into skillet and evaporate, until lightly charred and opaque, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to plate with cooked tentacles. Repeat with remaining bodies. Thinly slice bodies, then transfer squid to bowl with cucumber mixture and toss to coat.
• Arrange salad on a platter and drizzle remaining dressing over. Top with cilantro sprigs. Serve with rice alongside, if using.