Stuffed Squid with Fish and Dill in Bechamel Sauce

Squid and rice

1. To make this dish we bought four prepared, cleaned squid tubes. They are about the size of a palm and are perfect for cooking. We got two tubes per serving.

2. Thaw and rinse the squid tubes. Take them out of the freezer in the evening and they will thaw in the fridge by morning. All that is left is to rinse and stuff them.

   

3. Cook soft basmati rice until done. Either use the water-to-rice ratio for fluffy rice, or boil it in a large amount of water and rinse it.

   You can make the fish mince from any inexpensive sea fish: pollock, hake or cod. They have few bones, and the fillet separates easily from the skin. It is worth adding shrimp meat, krill or any seafood that doesn’t need much cooking. The aroma and flavor of fresh dill in the filling and the sauce is something special, and it makes the dish taste wonderful. You can add buckwheat or bulgur to the filling. Chicken can be used instead of fish.

   

Bechamel sauce

1. Make the bechamel sauce. Cut about 2 tbsp off the prepared piece of butter and melt it in a frying pan. Add 2 tbsp of flour (20 g) and rub it in so no lumps form. Pour in the cold milk 1 cup at a time, continuing to work the flour into the butter. It is hard to predict how much milk the sauce will take, but it should end up medium thick and fairly runny. Salt the bechamel, add a pinch of nutmeg on the tip of a knife and let the sauce simmer for 3-5 mins over low heat, stirring. There should be enough sauce to simmer the stuffed squid in.

   

Filling

1. Prepare the fish and shrimp. Cut the fillet off the fish, clean it thoroughly of skin and bones and grind it in a meat grinder. Pour boiling water over the frozen shrimp, and after 5 mins rinse and peel them. If you plan to garnish the dish with shrimp, set a few aside whole.

2. Fry the onion with the fish mince. In a clean frying pan over medium heat, melt the rest of the butter, finely chop the peeled onion and fry it until golden. Add the fish mince and fry, stirring, for 5-6 mins, until the fish is cooked. Add salt and pepper.

   

4. Add the cooked rice, stir and simmer over low heat for 10 mins with the lid on. Then add the chopped shrimp meat and stir.

   

5. At the very end, add finely chopped dill, about 0.5 tbsp, leaves only and no coarse stems, and 1 tbsp of the finished bechamel sauce, then stir. Take the filling off the heat and let it cool a little so it doesn’t burn your fingers. If the filling falls apart, you can add a bit more bechamel.

   

Stuffing and simmering

1. With a teaspoon, carefully fill the squid tubes with the prepared filling. Don’t pack the filling too tightly or press it down, just compact it slightly. The tubes will end up a little rounded and without tears. Also don’t fill them right up to the edge. When heated, the protein in the meat slightly deforms the casing and it shrinks a little. To keep the filling from falling out, stop 5-6 mm short of the edge.

   

2. Transfer the squid to a saucepan or a high-sided frying pan, pour the ready bechamel over them and set over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a boil, turning the stuffed tubes in the sauce often, as they brown quickly when they touch the hot bottom of the pan. From the moment the sauce starts to boil, simmer the squid for 5 minutes, turning them several times. Then turn off the heat and let the squid stand in the sauce for another 5 mins.

   

Serving

1. Put two squid on a large plate, as they look better that way, and pour the sauce over them. Finely chop the dill and sprinkle it over the dish. Garnish with slices of lemon or orange, and with shrimp. Serve hot.

   

   Don’t reheat the squid, as it will most likely turn very tough. So cook just enough for one meal, right before you serve it.