Squid

Make this curry as fiery hot as you like. That is how it is preferred in many parts of South India. This dish is generally served with plain rice or with the thin, fresh rice noodles known as idiappam. I have given a method of preparing dried rice sticks, sold in Thai and Vietnamese markets, on page 224 (see Thin Rice Noodles). They are the closest to the Indian noodles. I have also been known to serve this curry over thin spaghettini or angel-hair pasta.

Here is a quick stir-fry that you might serve with Plain Jasmine Rice and Corn with Aromatic Seasonings.

This Greek dish takes time and effort but is something special to offer at a dinner party. Serve with rice or with mashed potatoes (see page 297).

Grilled calamari is a big hit at cocktail parties. It sounds exotic and the platter always comes back empty. The spice mix gives this particular recipe a serious Caribbean influence, and right before the skewers go out I squeeze the grilled lime over the top. Have your fishmonger clean the squid for you. Yo u will need wooden skewers, and don’t forget to soak them in water for 20 minutes before you use them.

It always pleases me when such a simple recipe can be so good. But every ingredient and every step must be perfect—the calamari, fresh; the olive oil, the best; and the pan must be hot for the quick cooking. I always prefer to buy whole calamari and clean them myself (you can see how easy it is to do in my book Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen). I also like to leave the skin on the bodies, because it takes on a lovely color when cooked. However, now that squid are frequently sold already cleaned, which is a convenience, the body skin is usually peeled off as well. So, if you like the skin, as I do, ask the fishmonger at your market to leave it on. If that’s not possible, don’t worry: the dish tastes marvelous either way. (And if you are not a fan of squid, you could also prepare scallops, swordfish, or even a fillet of cod using this recipe.)

For me, there’s no better way to dress spaghetti than with a fresh seafood sauce. And this sauce, from the old fishing port of Termoli in Molise, is as simple and delicious as any. In the restaurants by the docks in Termoli (near the old citadel called Tornola), just-caught seafood is served in a brodetto. You eat the seafood, and then the kitchen will toss spaghetti into the sauce you’ve left in your bowl. In my version of spaghetti di Tornola, the calamari, scallops, and shrimp are part of the pasta dressing, but you can eat the brodetto in separate courses, Termoli-style, if you like. In summer, I use my mother’s home-grown, sun-ripened cherry tomatoes to make an exceptional sauce, but in winter, a couple of cups of canned plum tomatoes make a fine substitute.

You'll want crusty bread for sopping up this San Francisco fish stew.

Grilled squid—yaki ina—is a fixture of street fairs, shrine festivals, and pushcart vendors. Its phenomenal soy sauce fragrance makes it almost impossible to pass by without wanting one.

Ask my Catalan friend Pep and my Catalan-wannabe friend Ted which of the three of us makes the best paella, and prepare to hear much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then you'll hear many excuses about exactly how and why I, neither having the privilege of a) growing up in Spain (Pep) nor b) having written a newspaper story about paella after interviewing the Spanish cooking authority Penelope Casas (Ted), managed to mop the floor with both of them in a paella cook-off when I lived in Boston several years ago. What can I say? The crowd was the judge, and the choice was clear. Of course, paella is a renowned dish for groups: In Spain, cooks will put a gargantuan paella pan over a huge fire to feed dozens. But with the right pan (I love my trusty steel crepe pan), it's easy enough to make for one, too.

Cut into rings and tentacles and deep fried, squid have claimed a top spot on restaurant appetizer menus as calamari. But why go out for calamari when you can grill them at home? Whole, marinated squid, done to a turn on your grill, can transform your backyard into a tapas bar. Just stir up a pitcher of sangria or chill a bottle of fino sherry, and you're good to go. The technique you use for grilling squid is the same as for whole baby octopus or cut-up octopus tentacles. You want to marinate them first to imbue them with flavor. Squid and octopus are not as delicate as fish, so you can marinate them longer—ideally, for 3 to 4 hours. Then, grill them quickly on an oiled, perforated grill rack (so they don't fall through the grill grates) over a hot fire; that way, they crisp up without getting rubbery.

From the delicate calamari to the crunchy celery and crisp greens, this salad is a mélange of wonderful textures. Make sure to use the freshest calamari you can find, and cook it quickly over the hot griddle to keep it as tender as possible.

This beautiful seafood salad makes a terrific home for leftover Niçoise olives from the braised Veal Cacciatore . Quickly cooking the calamari renders it snowy white and very tender—such a nice backdrop to the salty olives and crunchy celery. Scallion, lemon zest, and celery add freshness.

Traditionally, calamari are cooked with the skin on—it is the skin that gives a purple hue to the sauce. But if you want, you can peel it off.

This light salad is pretty enough for a dinner party.

The stew is perked up with an Italian-style salsa verde, a mixture of chopped fresh herbs and olive oil. Have the bass filleted at the fish counter. You'll need the bones, skin, and head to make the stock, so be sure to request that those parts be saved for you. You may want to consider toasting more bread to sop up all the flavorful broth.

Cold noodle dishes are a great way to cool off, and since both calamari and rice-stick noodles require little cooking, the combination makes for an excellent lunch or dinner on a hot, lazy day. With its generous amount of fragrant garden herbs, this salad even smells refreshing.