Sunday, February 27, 2011

15 minute lunch: Harissa Squid and Shredded Carrot Salad

On weekends, I don't like to cook lunch.  I don't like sandwiches very much, and there aren't a lot of "lunchy" things that take very little time that I enjoy eating.  Most of the time, Dave and I end up going out.  But, he's not here today and I can't justify going to Baja Fresh when I have stuff in the fridge that I can make.  I bought some random squid tubes at the grocery store yesterday because I wanted to see what I could do with them.  I made this lunch in about 15 minutes from start to finish, not including clean up time!

I made the shredded carrot salad because I had two lonely carrots leftover from last week.  It's loosely based on a Moroccan salad I saw in The New Book of Middle Eastern Food.  The squid is something I came up with on my own.  It turned out really well!  The harissa had just enough kick to it, without overpowering the squid.  The lemon juice added a nice tang.  I would definitely make this again because it was so quick.  Plus, it's healthy!





Harissa Squid
Original Recipe!
Serves 1

Ingredients:
3 squid tubes, rinsed well and cut into rings
juice of 1/4 lemon (just juice half a lemon, the other 1/4 goes in the carrot salad.  Or, if not making it, it can all go in the squid).
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 small shallot, chopped
A dash of paprika
1 Tbsp harissa
1 Tbsp olive oil


Method:
1) Heat the olive oil in a small pan over medium heat.  When hot, add the garlic and stir until it's fragrant.  Then add the shallots and cook for about a minute.  Add a dash of paprika and stir.
2) Add the squid rings and the lemon juice and stir well.
3) Add the harissa, stir well, and cook for 2 - 3 minutes, but be careful not to overcook the squid, it will be rubbery.
Serve with carrot salad or some other quick veggie dish like hummus or tabbouleh from the store.

Shredded Carrot Salad
Loosely based on Moroccan carrot salad from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food.
Serves 1

Ingredients:
2 carrots, peeled and grated with the large holes of a cheese grater
Juice from 1/4 lemon (the other 1/4 from the 1/2 juiced for the squid)
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp cinnamon
dash ground ginger
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste (I used a good bit of pepper)

Method:
1) Mix all ingredients well and let sit while you cook the squid or other lunch dish.  The dressing will drain to the bottom of the bowl.
2) Serve with a slotted spoon.

2 comments:

Heguiberto said...

This recipe looks really tasty and surprisingly easy considering, in fact, it is two-in-one. I love squid but had never considered it with harissa. You could expand the dish and serve it for a main course easily (and undoubtedly have many happy diners.) We've had carrot salads like you indicate here and they tend to be delish. Do you add raisins to them? I've seen that before.

Scienter said...

The original recipe called for golden raisins, but I didn't have any in the house. I want to try it with them, though.

I made the squid for just me because I've only ever cooked it once before. Hopefully I'll be able to feed it to friends in the future! I just discovered harissa, I went to a Middle Eastern bakery and bought some and now I can't stop putting it in my food!

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