When you’ll get tired of usual chicken, pork, potatoes and pasta and you’re out of ideas what to cook for dinner – try this dish. It’s very easy to prepare and almost doesn’t need any preparation beforehand.
The main thing is to unfreeze the squid in time if you’re buying it frozen. And more then likely you’re buying it exactly like this.
If you’re planning to cook it for dinner, take the squid out of the freezer and put it to the fridge in 8-10 hours before cooking. But better to do it in a day, so it definitely has time to unfreeze in the most comfortable environment. Do the same with needle beans.
A big plus in the preparation of this dish is that everything is cooked in one pan and you do not have to dirty a lot of dishes.
You’ll get a spicy dish which is perfect for cozy winter or fall evenings. But if you’re not a “hot” fan, lower the amount of chili, but I don’t recommend removing it at all, this way you won’t get it quite right.
What you Need to Cook Squid in Tomato Sauce with Chili
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 small red onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- A few stalks of mint with leaves
- ½-1 chili peppers
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 400 g (14 oz) jar of chopped tomatoes in juices
- 200 g (7 oz) green beans (or one of the substitutes)
- 300 g (10,6 oz) of squid carcasses
- Lemon for serving
How to Make Squid in Tomato Sauce with Chili: Step-by-Step Instructions🔪
STEP 1. PREPARE ALL THE INGREDIENTS
In a half-hour or hour take out unfrozen squid 300 g (10,6 z) and needle beans 200 g (7 oz) from the fridge.
In case it’s already time to cook dinner but you’ve forgotten to take the squid out, do it now, and place into the big bowl with cold water right away. This way you’ll unfreeze it in 1-1,5 hours. Yeah, it’s still long, but who is to blame for what you forget.
The unfreezing in hot water, microwaving, or pouring with hot water is not the best idea, which is why I don’t recommend these methods.
1 onion slice in half-rings.
Finely slice 2 cloves of garlic.
Tear off the mint leaves, put aside, and finely chop the stalks. Clear ½-1 chili pepper from seeds and chop as you like.
STEP 2. FRY THE VEGETABLES
Warm-up 2 tbsp of oil in the wide frying pan.
Add sliced onion, garlic, and mint stalks. Fry for a couple of minutes, until gentle.
Add sliced chili pepper and ½ tsp of smoked paprika. Cook for a minute.
Add 400 g (14 oz) chopped tomatoes in juices. If you’re using whole ones, you can chop them yourself with a knife or spatula directly in the frying pan. I used cherry tomatoes and just squashed them a bit with a spatula.
Bring to a boil, minimize fire, and leave for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the squid in circles about 1 cm wide.
STEP 3. ADD THE NEEDLE BEANS AND SQUID
Add unfrozen needle beans into the frying pan, salt, pepper.
Put there the squid in one layer evenly. Bring to the boil, cover, and cook for 5-7 minutes.
When it’s time, pick up the cover, taste the squid if ready and add salt if needed. If it’s still raw to your taste, cover again and cook for additional 3-5 minutes. But do not overdo, otherwise the squid becomes tough.
Serve with brown bread and lemon slices, decorate with mint leaves and add a bit of lemon zest on top.
Squid in Tomato Sauce with Chili
Equipment
- nothing, that you wouldn’t have
Ingredients
- 1 red onion small
- 2 cloves of garlic
- a few stalks of mint with leaves
- ½-1 chili peppers
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 400 g chopped tomatoes in juices
- 200 g needle beans
- 300 g squid carcasses
- 1 lemon for serving
Instructions
- In a half-hour or hour take out unfrozen squid (300 g) and needle beans (200 g) from the fridge.
- Slice 1 onion in half-rings.
- Finely slice 2 cloves of garlic.
- Tear off the mint leaves, put aside, and finely chop the stalks.
- Clear 0,5-1 chili pepper from seeds and chop as you like.
- Warm-up 2 tbsp of oil in the wide frying pan. Add sliced onion, garlic, and mint stalks. Fry for a couple of minutes, until gentle. Add sliced chili pepper and 0,5 tsp of smoked paprika. Cook for a minute.
- Add 400 g chopped tomatoes in juices. If you're using whole ones, you can chop them yourself with a knife or spatula directly in the frying pan. Bring to a boil, minimize fire, and leave for 15 minutes.
- Cut the squid in circles about 1 cm wide.
- Add unfrozen needle beans into the frying pan, salt, pepper.
- Put there the squid in one layer evenly. Bring to the boil, cover, and cook for 5-7 minutes. When it's time, pick up the cover, taste the squid if ready and add salt if needed. If it's still raw to your taste, cover again and cook for additional 3-5 minutes.
- Serve with brown bread and lemon slices, decorate with mint leaves and add a bit of lemon zest on top.
