Photo: Christina SimonsAs the legend has it, at least the one I read, lobster a l’amoricaine was originally from the Cotes- d’Armor in Brittany. With time the name was bastardised to from armoricaine to amoricaine and finally americaine. That’s cultural imperialism for you.Now most of us don’t have the pocket for nearly a kilo of lobster. Instead and to celebrate the finding of the giant celaphapod by the Japanese I thought I’d share my recipe for squid a l’amoricaine.Remember it is my philosophy not to give long lists of ingredients and detailed quantities. The idea is to cook by taste and feel.For two people about 400kgg of squid is plenty. You’ll also need some good olive oil, an onion, a couple of ripe tomatoes, garlic, tarragon and parsley (fresh, of course), white wine, cayenne pepper, lemon and salt/pepper.If you are a wimp buy squid rings. If you are a real cook, buy a fresh monster from the deep. Not too big, though. If it’s fresh it should be purple and speckled.The book I have says to stun it by giving it a sharp blow on the head with a heavy instrument – I hope it’s not a giant. Ah, I see now that was for lobster so quite possibly the squid will already have been dispatched by the fishmonger. She (or he) who may also offer to prepare it for you. If not dispatched, avoid the snappy beak and I recommend protective glasses to avoid ink squirting into the eyes.As several minutes wrestling a la Jules Vern, strip the insides out of the squid (after ensuring it’s dead , of course). Cut below the eyes to remove the tentacles and remove the beak. Clean out the inside of its “head”and strip off the speckled skin. Wash thoroughly.Finely dice the onion and melt with crushed garlic in the olive oil unless sweet and soft.Meanwhile, score the tomatoes at each end and blanche in boiling hot water. Peel, remove the pips and slice finely. Slice the squid into rings and seal in the pan. Add the tomato and finely chopped parsley and tarragon.Add a dash of white wine and a pinch of cayenne. Reduce for a few minutes, add more parsley and serve on a bed of rice.Enjoy with something like a Muscadet – that’s the stuff we almost always drank in Brittany.
