Squid with veggies Jackson Pollock style

Today our chef Roberto, Grand Hotel Tremezzo, in Como recommends a summer dish with filled squids and vegetables, simply perfect for a delicious meal while you're lulled by the waves on board. For the preparation of this dish, we recommend to stop by a local fish market and pick some freshly fished squid and fresh vegetables. A delicious and perfect recipe for those who enjoy quick, healthy yet tasty food. 

Our chef in action

Filled squid or a Jackson Pollock painting?  

Filled squid with vegetables caponata

For two people

Ingredients for the vegetable caponata

• 2 zucchinis
• 1 red pepper
• 1 celery
• 10 olives (preferably the 'taggiasche' type)
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 eggplant
• 10g pine nuts 
• 10 gr raisin
• 6 squids
• 6 toothpicks

Ingredients for the almond paste

• 15 almonds
• 20 gr bread crumb
• 1 spring of parsley 

Fresh squid from the local market, the secret of any good recipe lies in the ingredients! 

Preparation

Let's start by cleaning and dicing the zucchinis, the celery, the aubergine (you previously peeled), the red pepper, and the tomato sliced into small cubes and finally your olives.

Your sliced tomatoes 

Then drizzle some oil on a frying pan and brown your vegetables, starting with the pepper that will need more time to cook. Then add the celery, the zucchini, the eggplant and finally the tomato with the olives. Now with the squids: rinse them throughly making sure to remove the entrails. Once you've done that, you can start with the filling.

So we join the ends of the open part of the squid with a toothpick. Now it would be preferable to use a blender. However, if it is not available on board, I recommend using a heavy object that you can wrap in a cotton napkin to crush the almonds until you get a flour-like consistency. We will then add add the breadcrumbs to this almond flour mix.

To prepare the chlorophyll: Blend the parsley with a blender. Alternatively, chop it with a knife. Then cool it in water and ice and you will see the green colour of the parsley separating from the water. Leave it to cool down completely for a few minutes and then drain it all by filtering it through a cloth. The green that will remain on the cloth will be our chlorophyll. We proceed by breading our 3 squids with our almond flour and their heads in a pot with a drizzle of oil. Make sure to blanch the squid on both sides.

Plating

For a playful final effect I recommend a nice large plate. We'll lay the green chlorophyll, the red and black into three different points of your plate. With a spoon we're going to tap to have a sketch effect, then we're going to lay three squids with their heads on the side of each color - as shown in this video I prepared for you.

Thanks to chef Roberto for this fresh and tasty recipe. If you missed the chef previous menu with shrimp and avocado salad and trofie with pesto, take a look here, we suggest you print it out and bring it on board! 

Have a great sail and enjoy your meal!