Day 133: Spicy squid salad

Being the eternal optimist and also never one to admit defeat, as I sit here at 9:50pm in Donegal the night before the All-Ireland final, I think I have finally conceded that I will not be going to the match tomorrow. You see, I had that many people on the look-out for tickets for me but, to be honest, they have been like gold dust to get. Also, Dear Husband, with all his contacts throughout the 32 counties, had said that he would ‘definitely’ get me a ticket. Yes, he did use the word ‘definitely’. Yes, well, I know that’s going to be the other conversation we’ll definitely be having when I’m 90 (and he’s 95!) “Eh Dear Husband, remember the time Donegal were in the All-Ireland final and you said you’d definitely get me a ticket but you didn’t?!”. Well, I don’t want to tempt fate and say the time Donegal ‘won’ the 2012 final. Anyway, I just figured that eventually one would turn up but as the day drew nearer to 6 o’clock this evening, I knew I wouldn’t be going anywhere.

My cousin reminded me last week that when we got our tickets twenty years ago when Donegal were in their one and only All-Ireland that it was 1:30am on the Friday night that we actually managed to get them into our hands. They were as hard to get then as they are now but, back then, I had come up through playing camogie with the local club (Burt) and had two county medals (albeit at U-12) so they must’ve thought I qualified for them then. Ah sure I was only a child but I still vividly remember the excitement of it all. There we were, planted right behind the goals at the Canal End. It’s hard to believe that twenty years have since passed.

The reason the 6 o’clock deadline this evening was so important was because that was when Dear Sister No.1 and the brother-in-law were heading south of the border with or without me! Just in case, I had the house all tidied up and, mentally, knew where my bits and pieces were should I have to pack and be out of the house at extremely short notice. Dear Sister No.2 is away on honeymoon, of course, and then Dear Sister No.3 and her boyfriend were in Dublin for the match since yesterday so that just left me. So, seeing as I didn’t get to Dublin, that meant I was sticking around to make this evening’s tea and I decided on Spicy squid salad.

The recipe started off by explaining how to clean and cut the squid; however, thanks to the lovely butcher/fishmonger in the supermarket, I didn’t have to worry a thing about it. I think the only time I’d ever seen squid was when it’s been cut in ring-form so when Mr. Butcher pointed out the actual full squid, I’d never have guessed that’s where squid came from. I know that people can criticise large supermarkets but Mr. Butcher was an older man who obviously really knew his stuff and was so nice. And even though I live on a peninsula, it was also a supermarket north of the border that I had to go to (Sainsburys) – well, squid is difficult to get.

With the squid, I rinsed it, patted it dry and then cut it into roughly 3cm squares. In a bowl, I added olive oil, smoked paprika, salt and pepper, gave it a swirl and then added the squid to it before giving it another swirl. In another bowl, I added olive oil, rocket leaves and diced tomato. I then put on a griddle pan to a high heat and added the squid mixture. It cooked for about 4 minutes in total and, for the last 30 seconds, I added in capers. I served up by putting the salad leaf mix on a plate and then tumbled out the squid on top of it.

The verdict…

Dear Husband didn’t have a clue what type of fish or meat he was eating so he was mid-way through it before asking what it was. He said it was ‘very tasty’ and then the verdict arrived with the last bite – 7 marks out of 10. I tried in vain as usual to get more feedback but the only other thing he said was that he thought it would be a good recipe for either a start or a main course.

Overall, the recipe was super easy to prepare and cook – just as long as you have a friendly butcher who will very kindly sort out the ‘yucky’ part of preparing the squid. Will I make it again? Yes, definitely. With such a short cooking time and the high score, it’s a recipe which is worth sourcing good squid for. And, if you need another reason to make this recipe, there was minimal mess in the kitchen too which was perfect for me this evening as I really didn’t fancy messing it after all the tidying I had done.

As for the All-Ireland, I’m just thinking about the front page headline on our local paper The Inishowen Independent which read on Thursday “Last One Out Turn Off the Lights!”. Well, don’t worry people, I’ll be here so keep the lights on! Come on Donegal!!!