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1
Preheat the oven to 450F Prepare a brown grocery bag for baking (see Note).
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2
Place the squid in the center of the prepared bag.
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3
Top with the tomatoes, garlic, and mint, and then sprinkle the salt over all.
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4
Fold up the bag envelope style to enclose the ingredients.
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Place the bag, seam side up, on a baking sheet.
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Bake until the bag is puffed out a bit, 20 minutes.
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7
Transfer the bag to a platter and ease it open, taking care to avoid the escaping steam.
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8
Arrange 12 to 18 small toasts around the squid and serve right away.
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9
NOTE: To prepare a brown bag for baking, cut it lengthwise and open it out.
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Coat the face-up side (inside) with a thin film of olive oil (about 2 tablespoons for a large grocery bag).
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The oil will seep through to the other side and will prevent the bag from crumbling or burning in the oven during baking.
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PREPARING SQUID: While already cleaned squid are an excellent time-saver and, ounce for ounce, a good buy, too much of the flavor of the sea is washed away in the commercial cleaning.
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I recommend buying whole squid and preparing them yourself.
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14
With a paring knife, sever the tentacles from the squid body just above the eyes where you feel a hard ball.
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15
With your fingers, push out the hard ball from the center of the tentacles and discard the ball.
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16
Gently pull out inside material, trying to avoid tearing the bodies.
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17
Rinse the prepared tentacles and bodies in a colander.
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18
To cut cleaned squid bodies into rings, slice crosswise to the thickness desired.
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If the tentacles section is small, leave it whole; if large, halve it lengthwise through the area where the hard ball was located.
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20
If stuffing the whole squid bodies, fill the squid, close, and secure with toothpicks.
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THYME TOASTS: 1 baguette, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices.
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22
Several sprigs fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried.
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23
2 tablespoons olive oil.
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Preheat the oven to 450F.
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25
Arrange the bread slices in one layer on a baking sheet and bake until barely golden around the edges, 5 minutes.
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26
Using the thyme sprigs as a brush, rub one side of each toast with oil.
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(Or, if using dried thyme, stir it into the oil and use a pastry brush to rub the toasts.)
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28
Use right away or store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
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29
Adventures In Greek Cooking.
