Chef Graziella
Cavolo Cappuccio in Insalata
The cabbage slaw of the Alto Adige, where Austrian traditions meet Italian restraint. Caraway seeds give it character, vinegar gives it brightness, and time gives it depth.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Insalata di Calamari
Created by
Squid poached for mere seconds, dressed while still warm with good olive oil and lemon, scattered with celery and olives. The restraint of coastal Italian cooking, where the sea provides and the cook does not interfere.
Salads
Italian
Dinner Party
Make Ahead
25 min
Active Time
5 min cook•30 min total
Yield6 servings
The difference between good squid and rubber bands is about 30 seconds of cooking time. This is the truth that every Italian fisherman's wife knows and that most American cooks have never learned. Squid requires either very brief or very long cooking. Nothing in between.
This salad appears on tables from Naples to Genoa, from Bari to Venice, with small variations that reveal their origins. The Neapolitans might add capers. The Ligurians insist on taggiasca olives. The Venetians serve it with soft polenta in winter. All agree on the essentials: tender squid, sharp lemon, excellent olive oil, and the clean crunch of celery.
What you keep out matters as much as what you put in. There is no mayonnaise here, no overwhelming herbs, no distractions from the pure taste of the sea. The celery provides texture and freshness. The olives add salt and depth. The lemon brightens everything. The olive oil binds it together. That is all you need.
Squid salads have sustained fishing communities along Italy's coastlines for centuries, prepared by wives who knew that the morning's catch required speed and simplicity. The dish gained broader popularity in the trattorias of Naples and the Amalfi Coast in the mid-20th century, where tourists discovered what locals had always known: the best seafood needs almost nothing done to it.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
whole squid
Quantity
2 pounds
cleaned, or 1 1/2 pounds cleaned bodies and tentacles
celery stalks
Quantity
3
from the heart, with leaves
Gaeta or Taggiasca olives
Quantity
1/2 cup
pitted
garlic
Quantity
1 small clove
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
1/4 cup
chopped
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
1/3 cup
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
3 tablespoons
fine sea salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
freshly ground
dried peperoncino (optional)
Quantity
1 small
crumbled
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| whole squidcleaned, or 1 1/2 pounds cleaned bodies and tentacles | 2 pounds |
| celery stalksfrom the heart, with leaves | 3 |
| Gaeta or Taggiasca olivespitted | 1/2 cup |
| garlic | 1 small clove |
| flat-leaf parsleychopped | 1/4 cup |
| extra virgin olive oil | 1/3 cup |
| fresh lemon juice | 3 tablespoons |
| fine sea salt | to taste |
| black pepperfreshly ground | to taste |
| dried peperoncino (optional)crumbled | 1 small |
Equipment Needed
- •Large pot for boiling
- •Sharp knife for cleaning squid
- •Serving bowl
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the squid
If using whole squid, pull the tentacles from the body. Cut below the eyes to separate the tentacles from the head, discarding the head and ink sac. Remove the beak from the center of the tentacles. Pull the transparent quill from inside the body and discard. Rinse the body inside and out under cold water. Slice the bodies into rings about one-third inch thick. Leave the tentacles whole or halve them if large.
- 2
Cook the squid
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a vigorous boil. Drop in the squid rings and tentacles. Watch the clock. From the moment the water returns to a boil, cook for exactly 45 seconds to 1 minute. The squid should be just opaque. Drain immediately and spread on a tray to cool. Do not shock in ice water. This dilutes flavor and changes texture.
Overcooked squid becomes rubber. Properly cooked squid is tender and yielding. There is no middle ground. If you miss the window, continue cooking for 35 to 40 minutes until tender again. The in-between state is inedible. - 3
Prepare the vegetables
Slice the celery stalks on a sharp diagonal into pieces about one-quarter inch thick. Reserve the pale yellow leaves. Cut the olives in half lengthwise. Peel the garlic clove but leave it whole.
- 4
Make the dressing
In a small bowl, combine the olive oil and lemon juice with a fork. Season with salt and pepper. Crush the garlic clove with the flat of your knife and add it to the dressing. The garlic will perfume the oil. You will remove it later. If using peperoncino, add it now.
- 5
Combine the salad
In a serving bowl, combine the cooled squid, sliced celery, olives, and chopped parsley. Remove and discard the garlic clove from the dressing. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently but thoroughly. Every piece of squid should glisten.
The salad improves if dressed 30 minutes before serving. The squid absorbs the lemon and oil. It becomes more itself, not less. - 6
Rest and serve
Let the salad rest at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Scatter the reserved celery leaves over the top. Serve at room temperature, never cold. Cold mutes the flavors you worked to develop.
Chef Tips
- •Buy squid fresh if possible, with clear eyes and firm flesh that smells only of the sea. Frozen squid is acceptable and often quite good, but thaw it completely in the refrigerator overnight. Never at room temperature.
- •The garlic here is a whisper, not a shout. You crush the clove, steep it in the dressing, then remove it. What remains is perfume. This is how Italians actually use garlic, despite what Americans believe.
- •Seek out Italian olives for this salad. Gaeta olives from the coast south of Rome or Taggiasca from Liguria have the right balance of salt and fruit. Greek kalamata will do, but the flavor is different.
- •This salad travels well. Pack it for a picnic or a summer lunch on the terrace. It holds at room temperature for several hours without suffering.
Advance Preparation
- •The squid can be cooked and dressed up to 6 hours ahead. Refrigerate, then bring to room temperature 30 minutes before serving.
- •Add the celery leaves only at the moment of serving. They wilt quickly.
- •The dressed salad holds well for a day in the refrigerator, though the celery will soften. Some prefer it this way.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 145g)
Calories
225 calories
Total Fat
15 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
11 g
Cholesterol
264 mg
Sodium
345 mg
Total Carbohydrates
5 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
18 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Chef Graziella's Italian Salad Collection
Browse the full collection
Chef Graziella
Insalata di Ceci
Warm chickpeas drink in olive oil and lemon as cold ones never can. This is the salad of Italian home cooks: five ingredients, honest technique, and nothing to hide behind.
Chef Graziella
Insalata di Lenticchie di Castelluccio
The tiny lentils of Umbria's high plateau, cooked until just tender and dressed simply with olive oil, vinegar, and parsley. What you keep out matters as much as what you put in.
Chef Graziella
Insalata di Orzo Perlato
A salad of substance from the northern Italian tradition, where pearl barley's nutty chew meets sweet roasted vegetables and the bright acidity of a proper vinaigrette. This is not decoration. This is dinner.