“Mermaids” — Squid Stuffed with Ground Meat and Mushrooms
Here the squid is less the headline flavor than an edible casing: each tube holds a filling of browned ground meat, mushrooms and cheese, lending it a faint briny edge. The bed of tomato rounds underneath is doing real work — it keeps the bottoms from scorching, and its juice mixes with melting cheese into a sauce right on the pan.
Stuffed tubes like these took hold in post-Soviet home kitchens once frozen squid became cheaper than almost any fish. The older filling was rice-based; meat and 200 g (about 7 oz) of button mushrooms make a version that is more substantial and slices cleanly.
Getting the squid right
Squid has two windows: a minute or two, or forty. There is nothing in between, and this recipe uses the short one. That is why the filling is fully cooked before it goes in and the oven only needs 10-15 minutes to melt the cheese — five to seven minutes longer and the tubes turn rubbery. Fill them loosely, since they contract as they heat and a tight tube splits at the seam. To remove the membrane, pour boiling water over the tube and drop it straight into cold water; it slips off in one sheet. Any firm melting cheese works for the top — Gouda, Emmental or a mild cheddar. Serve with basmati or roasted potatoes and a dry white.
Part of Eastern European cuisine — 68 more recipes in the section.
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Ingredients
Instructions
Clean the squid tubes, removing the membrane and the quill, then rinse well and pat dry with paper towels.
Fry the ground meat in oil, breaking it up with a fork, until no pink remains; season with salt and pepper.
Chop the mushrooms finely, slice the onion, and fry them together until the moisture has cooked off.
Grate the cheese on the coarse side of a grater. Stir half of it into the meat and mushrooms and reserve the rest for the top.
Fill the squid loosely, leaving a little room — the tubes tighten as they heat.
Slice the tomatoes into rounds and lay them in a single continuous layer on a greased baking pan; this is the cushion that keeps the squid from scorching.
Set the stuffed tubes on top and scatter with the remaining cheese.
Bake in a well-heated oven for about 10 to 15 minutes — just long enough for the cheese to melt while the squid stays tender.
Serve hot, cutting each tube on the diagonal, with the baked tomatoes alongside.
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