Colorful Calamari, Chile, And Watermelon Salad
Colorful Calamari, Chile, And Watermelon Salad
Spice up lightly-flavored calamari and sweet watermelon in this crunchy, chewy, and beautiful salad.This recipe is courtesy of Martha Stewart.
Servings
6
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 4 1/2 teaspoon packed light brown sugar
- 4 1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1 pound calamari (bodies and tentacles), rinsed and dried
- 1 pound cockles or small clams, scrubbed
- 2 1/2 pound watermelon, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup fresh mint, torn, plus more for garnish
- 1 red chile, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup pickled red onion
Directions
- Whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl until well combined.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Prepare an ice water bath.
- Using a kitchen mallet, pound the calamari a few times to tenderize. Insert a sharp knife into each calamari body, cut along the seam, and open up. Lightly score inner sides at ¼” intervals. Cut in half lengthways, to form 2 pieces. Slice into triangles, each about 4-inches tall by 1 ½-inches wide. If any of the tentacles are particularly large, slice them in half.
- Blanch the calamari in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon, and transfer to the ice bath. Drain and pat dry. Place in a separate bowl.
- Put cockles into saucepan, and cover with water by 1-inch. Cover and simmer until shells open, about 7 minutes. Drain. Discard any unopened shells.
- Add cockles, watermelon, scallions, cilantro, mint, chile, pickled onion, and dressing to the calamari. Toss to combine. Garnish with extra mint.