Convenient Calamari

Cleaning squid is no one’s idea of a good time. Eating calamari is an entirely different matter. The fact that you need to do the former to get to the latter is one of cooking’s cruel facts of life.

Until now, that is. Shop around at different seafood markets and you’ll find cleaned squid--usually sold as calamari; for some reason the Italian name is more palatable. This transforms what was a deeply inconvenient food to one of the handiest things in the grocery.

The magic of squid is that, once the cleaning’s out of the way, it cooks almost instantly. In fact, if you’ve tried squid and didn’t like it, the odds are that it was overcooked. If it goes a little too long, the tender flesh turns into rubber bands.

This can happen in a flash. Squid cooks faster than fresh pasta does. Dip it in boiling water, and it will be done in not much more time than it takes to scoop it back out--10 to 15 seconds, usually. Squid is done when it has changed from an opalescent gray to a dense white, and when the texture has gone from wiggly to firm.

Once this is done, the squid is ready to eat. My favorite preparation is a salad like the ones they serve up and down the fisherman’s wharf in Monterey. Squid has such a fresh, sweet ocean flavor that it only needs a little vinaigrette to set it off. Sliced celery is a crunchy counterpoint to the tender meat. Much else would be overkill.

If you’ve never cleaned squid, it’s a good thing to try at least once or twice. In addition to the general worthiness of knowing where your food comes from, it’s also good insurance against the day when you can’t find cleaned squid at the market.

Cleaning squid isn’t hard, just time-consuming. To begin--after you’ve caught your squid, so to speak--separate the squiggly leg portion from the tube-like body. Trim off everything left above the legs, leaving just enough to keep them attached to each other. Where the legs join, feel in the center with your finger and you’ll find a tiny hard button. That’s the beak, and when you press it, it will pop right out. That’s it for the legs.

The tube is covered in a thin, slippery skin, which needs to come off. Rinse the tube under running water and rub with your fingers and it will peel away quite easily. Inside the tube, there may be some body fat. If you squeeze the tube from the closed end--like a toothpaste tube--that will come right out, too. Stick your finger inside the tube and you’ll feel a thin bone, like a stiff piece of cellophane. That also pulls out. Now all that’s left to do is cutting the tube into rings.

On the other hand, if that sounds like too much bother, now you can just leave it all to someone else. It’s like having your squid and eating it, too.

Calamari Salad

Active Work and Total Preparation Time: 10 minutes

1 pound cleaned calamari

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt, plus more if necessary

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup lemon juice, plus more if necessary

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 pound celery, tender inner ribs only, sliced

1/3 cup parsley

* Blanch legs and body rings very briefly in plenty of rapidly boiling water. Cook just until color has lightened and pieces have just barely stiffened, 10 to 15 seconds. Remove from boiling water immediately and plunge into ice-water bath to stop cooking.

* In large mixing bowl, combine garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, lemon juice and red wine vinegar and whisk to combine. Add oil and whisk again to combine.

* Pat calamari dry and add to dressing along with celery. Toss to mix well. Add parsley and toss again. Season to taste with more salt or more lemon juice, if necessary.

6 servings. Each serving: 219 calories; 449 mg sodium; 113 mg cholesterol; 19 grams fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams protein; 0.42 gram fiber.