1. Choose squid that doesn’t smell strongly of fish, this indicates freshness.
2. To prepare tentacles, pull gently and remove from body. Cut between eye and tentacles and discard innards.
3. Inside the shorter tentacles, pull out hard ‘beak’ and discard. Trim long tentacles to the same length as the short ones. Discard the excess.
4. Feel inside for plastic-like quill, pull out and discard.
5. To prepare body of squid, locate two fins at top narrow end. Pinch together and thread a thumb underneath, pull away and discard. Pull off purplish coloured membrane and discard. Using the back of a knife, scrape down the outside of the body to remove the rest of the innards from inside. Rinse the body and tentacles thoroughly and pat dry.
6. To prepare the squid for cooking either cut into rings, by slicing widthways across the body, or slice lengthways down one side, open out squid and score surface lightly in a criss-cross pattern, using the knife at an angle so as not to cut all the way through. This helps tenderise the squid and curls it when cooking. Cut into square pieces.
7. Cook squid on a very high heat with some oil, salt and fresh lemon juice, for about 1min, adding tentacles for the last 30sec of cooking. The squid is ready when it turns white. Serve immediately with fresh parsley and lemon zest.
Use your skills to make these triple-tested recipes:
Squid and pepper salad recipe
Oriental prawn and squid fish cakes recipe
Or, try this simple seafood with garlic, parsley and lemon recipe.
White ceramic bistro plate, Sophie Conran. Pro chef's knife, Zwilling J.A. Henckels. Oak chopping board, Lakeland. Easy Induction frying pan (24cm), Kuhn Rikon UK. Wooden spoon, slate serving board, chef’s own.
The GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Our GH Kitchen Manager Linzi Pucino is our very own Italian food expert (originally hailing from the North East of Scotland!) and can be found working her way through midweek recipes that cover all bases, from haggis to ragu! Our Kitchen Editor Nadine Brown loves digging into the stories behind her favourite foods and enjoys applying her eclectic tastes to more modern, flavour-forward recipes - just don't give her too much chilli! Our Junior Food Content Produce Frankie Prichard combines a love of beautiful presentation and flavour-led, seasonal cooking in her recipe development, along with a passion for bringing people together through food. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time
