Australian Conservation Society has just released the results of a pilot sustainable seafood assessment project conducted over this last summer season.
Next time, I wish they’d assess prawns from the Richmond River estuary – they found Western king prawns from the Spencer Gulf in South Australia are a sustainable fishery, and now I am envious of South Australians!
Only one of the five pilots was in NSW – the others were too far away for me to really be able to draw any inferences. But the assessment of squid from the Hawkesbury River was really encouraging because I love calamari only slightly less than prawns, and my river, the Richmond, is not too far north, fished in a similar way, and ecologically similar enough that I feel safe assuming the same results will apply.
Squid are generally a fairly safe choice – they breed fast, die young, and may even be over-filling their niche as their natural predators struggle to maintain their populations. Yum. This recipe also uses limes, garlic, and lime basil, all well in season. We had to photograph these quickly because the barbeque guests were waiting to pounce on them.
The recipe:
The marinade is lots of lime basil, lots of garlic, just a touch of chili, and equal quantities of lime juice and olive oil, blended in the food processor. How much of each depends on how many guests you have, but the trick is to make the marinade the consistency of a dip rather than a liquid, (so not too much oil and lime juice).
Cut the squid tubes into rings and massage the marinade through it to coat. Let it sit for a few minutes.
Barbeque briefly on a hot hotplate. With a fresh green salad and turkish bread it’s the perfect kind of party food – fast and easy enough to enjoy your own barbeque, cheap enough to feed a lot of people without stress, and memorably delicious.
YUM!!!
kiwi fruit is a really good marinade for squid
didn’t know that! I’ll have to try it.