Grilled cuttlefish dressed with salmoriglio, a Sicilian recipe that my dad often prepared. When the fishermen would return after a night of fishing with their boats, a small group of people would gather on the beach to wait for them, including my dad, to buy fresh fish. He would prepare the grill and the salmoriglio, and in no time, lunch was ready. I would like to distinguish the term mollusk, like the cuttlefish. Mollusks are divided into two families: those with shells and those without. The first family, with shells, is further divided into categories such as clams, mussels, oysters, scallops, razor clams, sea snails, and limpets. The second family, without shells, includes squids, octopuses, bobtail squids, and cuttlefish, which I will use to prepare today’s recipe: grilled cuttlefish dressed with salmoriglio as my dad used to prepare it.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Grill
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Autumn, Winter
- Energy 628.30 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 5.85 (g) of which sugars 4.97 (g)
- Proteins 98.19 (g)
- Fat 24.54 (g) of which saturated 2.01 (g)of which unsaturated 0.02 (g)
- Fibers 0.31 (g)
- Sodium 3,067.39 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 240 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients to prepare grilled cuttlefish
- 1.5 lbs cuttlefish
- 1.5 lbs cuttlefish
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 chili pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 bunch parsley
- to taste lemon (grated zest)
Tools
- Skillet
- Lemon Grater
- Cutting Board
Steps to prepare grilled cuttlefish
As I have mentioned several times, I know for sure that all fish markets help customers by cleaning the fish, which is significant assistance. Even my trusted fishmonger does this, preparing the fish by cleaning it for me. At home, I divided the cuttlefish into two parts and made vertical cuts on each side to create a grid pattern, which helps prevent curling during cooking. I heat up the grill, and as soon as it’s hot, I start grilling the cuttlefish, needing only 7 minutes per side.
While the cuttlefish is cooking, I prepared the salmoriglio as I usually do, in a glass jar with a hermetic seal. After chopping the parsley, garlic, and chili pepper, I added all the ingredients to the jar along with oregano, salt, and oil. By shaking well several times, the ingredients blend together to form a creamy texture.
With a spoon, I spread the salmoriglio over the cuttlefish, add a generous amount of grated lemon, and the grilled cuttlefish is ready to be served.
A little tip
To check if the cuttlefish is fresh (among the many methods) and hasn’t been frozen and then thawed, check the ink inside the pouch, it should be fluid and not grainy. Once frozen, the ink in the cuttlefish will not become fluid again.
