In southern New England, late April – early May is squid season, as regular as lilacs. New England fishermen say that when the buds pop out on the trees the squid “come in,” and all the fish follow. Longfin Inshore Squid (Doryteuthis pealeii, also known as Loligo pealeii, spend their winters in deeper waters along the edge of the Continental Shelf. Their arrival inshore – they come to spawn – marks the start of spring for those living close to the Nantucket Sound waters. For the fishermen the squid are like the gunshot in the air declaring the start of the year’s fishing season.
In Nantucket Sound, if fishermen aren’t landing squid they are landing fluke with bellies and mouths full of squid. It’s described as “a sweet time,” because everything is coming in from off shore or coming North. The water temperatures are up. The Cape Cod and Rhode Island boats all head to Nantucket Sound because the squid have arrived there, and with them everything else.
After squid spawn, they return to deeper waters, retreating from the paths of rapacious striped bass and bluefish. Almost all New England fish consider squid a favorite meal.
At night, attracted by the lights, squid will chase small bait fish, also attracted by light, into shallow waters around bridges and piers. Many squid fishermen fish with lights at night to attract the squid. Some simply drop glow sticks from the county fair, tied to a leaded weight, into the water. Jigging this way for squid off docks is a springtime New England tradition. It is considered very bad manners to leave squid ink on someone’s boat.
The squid bounty is cyclical but no one can remember the cycle. Some fishermen will say it’s every seven years there’s a great year, but no one can really remember which year was the last great one.
Fishmongers refer to squid that hasn’t been skinned or cleaned as “dirty squid,” but dirty squid means the added gift of ink, their defense mechanism, famous in Venetian dishes like the ebony squid-ink risotto or pasta. DO NOT rinse freshly caught squid; that inky mess that’s dirtied them is full of flavor. Cleaned, antiseptic squid, which is what you will find in most fish markets, is delicious but it’s no where near as flavorful as the still inky tentacles and bodies of freshly caught squid.
Squid have a chitinous quill down their spine that looks like nothing more than plastic trash; it’s almost shocking how convincingly nature has mirrored plastic debris, or the reverse.
Longfin Inshore Squid have a healthy reddish-to-gray cast, but darker red means they are beginning to spoil. Watch for that. And squid spoil quickly, which is why they are often flash frozen.
Squid should be cooked with quick high heat to medium rare. Don’t add salt to the water if you are blanching them. Squid have seawater in them, so taste the cooked product before adding more salt.
Squid are a great foil for strong flavors – add squid to a stew with mussels, or other strong flavored fish. But they are also great prepared as simply as possible, with just a squeeze of lemon.
Squid ink can be added to sauces or seafood stews acting as a thickener. Raw squid can even be pureed in a blender with a little stock, and used in seafood stews as a thickener. People say the best tasting squid are the ones in Nantucket Sound and particularly off Point Judith, R.I., because they’ve been feeding on fish that have been eating blue-green algae, which sweetens everything.
Jose Duarte’s Spring Squid Ceviche
serves 4 as an appetizer, 2 as an entree, is easily doubled
This is a recipe from Peruvian chef Jose Duarte of the restaurant Taranta in Boston. With local spring ramps and traditional Peruvian ingredients, chef Jose Duarte creates a June-in-Boston edition of “leche de tigre,” the classic Peruvian ceviche classically made with lime, salt, onion and garlic. The cool freshness, the brightness of the sauce over the creamy squid makes this a winning dish for even squid-squeamish; sweet potato, a sweet, earthy counterpoint to the verdant sauce, confirms the win.
“In Peru ceviche is cooked, marinated fish,” Duarte says, describing the process of flash scalding the squid as “scaring the squid.” They are plunged into boiling water for just under a minute, then removed to an ice bath.
No bow to Peruvian cuisine would be right without Ahi Amarillo, the Peruvian word for peppers, essential in that cuisine. Peruvians have cultivated peppers for over 7000 years. Over 300 types of chili peppers find their way into modern Peruvian dishes, but Ahi Amarillo, the Peruvian yellow pepper, is the most familiar.
Duarte uses Ahi Amarillo Paste and Huacatay – dried black mint paste, flags of his native land.. Ahi yellow peppers are a medium-to-high heat pepper with a unique fruity flavor. Haucatay is a fragrant Pervuian herb described as a combination of basil, tarragon, mint, and lime. They are difficult to substitute, and Duarte recommends you don’t. The point of this dish is to frame this beautiful local squid in some Peruvian and New England tradition. Both products can be found in ethnic grocery stores, and in some standard grocery stores with Brazilian ingredients, and also online.
Ingredients:
For the Squid
1 pound cleaned, skinned squid, body cut into 3/4” rings, legs whole
boiling salted water
ice bath
For the Sauce:
4 limes
3 teaspoons Ahi paste
1 teaspoons black mint
2 spring ramps or small spring onions (1 ounce)
1 bunch cilantro, leaves only
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt
To Finish
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 sweet potato, baked, allowed to cool (room temperature), peeled, and cut into cubes
2 tablespoons chopped roasted pecans (optional)
1 sliced radish to garnish
Instructions
Clean squid, and cut into 3/4 “ rings, leaving tentacles intact.
Prepare ice bath beside boiling water. Drop squid into boiling salted water for exactly 1 minute. Remove immediately to ice bath. After squid is cool, about 3 minutes, remove to paper towels and pat dry.
To make the sauce, put all the ingredients in a blender, and blend on high for 3 minutes, or until everything is highly processed. Set aside.
Put squid in a medium bowl, and toss with diced onion. Add 2-3 tablespoons of sauce at at time, and toss well. Add more sauce to taste.
Serve squid in bowls or on small plates, placing cubes of sweet potato around. Sprinkle pecans over all if desired, and scatter 3-4 radish slices around plate.