Baby Squids Salad with Celery and Lemon Zest | Marcello Leoni

Ingredients for 4 servings

• 250 grams of baby squid (calamaretti)
• 100 grams of celery stalks, julienned
• Lemon zest, julienned and blanched
• 40 grams of whole grain bread (crumb only) per person
• Dehydrated capers
• Taggiasca olives
• Extra virgin olive oil to taste

Ingredients For the Tomato Gel (25 grams per serving)

• 2 medium tomatoes
• 0.5 grams of agar agar Texturas
• 2.5 grams of xanthan gum Texturas

Method for the Baby Squids

Clean the baby squids by removing the innards and the internal quill.
Quickly sear the squid in a pan with very hot olive oil, season with salt, and let it cool.
Remove the crust from the whole grain bread, leaving only the soft crumb; cut in the thin slices and toast them in a grill pan until golden.

Method for the Tomato Gel

Take 2 medium tomatoes, blend them and pass through a fine sieve.
Take 250 grams of the liquid and add 0.5 grams of agar agar and 2.5 grams of xanthan gum.
Blend with a hand blender and let it rest for 2 hours.

Plating

Plate the baby squids and garnish with toasted bread, olives, celery, lemon zest, a sprinkle of dehydrated capers, and a dollop of tomato gel.