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and always be satisfying to the palate. It is for this very reason that it has appeared in lots of menus of Michelin-starred restaurants in recent years.From the nutritional point of view, we have a lean flesh with a moderate protein content which is extremely rich in mineral salts and therefore perfectly suitable for any kind of nutrition.

However, pay close attention to preparation and cooking: as with all the cephalopods, fresh squid needs a period of “ageing” or “beating” and very short cooking times in order for the flesh to be tender and easily digestible. In fact, it doesn’t take much to turn tender molluscs into hard, rubbery or overcooked food.

You can overcome these issues and save a lot of time when cooking by using waveco® and its induced maturation©: thanks to this innovative technique, we can avoid the “ageing” period and the deep-freezing, and instead use a fresh product which has preserved all the delicate nutritional properties while at the same time achieving an incomparable result in terms of tenderness, colour and shelf life.

Let’s test waveco® with the preparation of this recipe: “Seared squid, pink pepper oil, burnt Savoy cabbage and anchovy bread”. For this recipe use: squid, Savoy cabbage, pink pepper, extra-virgin olive oil, anchovy-flavoured bread.

SEARED SQUID

Take a 250 g fresh and gutted squid, put it in a bag and start the induced maturation© process for 20 minutes; then, sear it for a few minutes in a pan. At the end of the process, the squid will have maintained its natural colour and become more tender as well as having an aroma of the sea.

TECHNICAL FOCUS: TENACITY OF FIBRES IN FISH SPECIES

Cephalopod flesh is rich in connective tissue; therefore, in order for it to be tender after cooking, you must first perform the “beating”, which breaks the fibres and makes the flesh more tender. Or you must freeze it, thus splitting apart the nervous fibres, which is another way of obtaining a more tender and tastier flesh.

PINK PEPPER OIL

Take a handful of grains of pink pepper, put it into a bag with 200 ml of water and start the induced maturation© process for 20 minutes. Then, take the hydrated pepper and, without removing any excess water, put it into a new bag adding some extra-virgin olive oil equal to about 10% of the weight and start induced maturation© for 30 minutes.

The former process rehydrates the grains of pink pepper in a short time, increasing its organoleptic properties, while the latter allows the olive oil to be absorbed more evenly; all with no need to soak and cook.

TECHNICAL FOCUS: HYDRATING SPICES OR DRIED SEEDS

Soaking spices and seeds has many advantages, which include not only a greater ease of use of the product or a reduction in the phytic acid, but also a significant increase in the organoleptic and nutritional properties of the food. The time of the hydration process, which can last even for several days, depends on the product dimensions and toughness.

BURNT SAVOY CABBAGE

Clean some Savoy cabbage, put it into a bag with some water and start induced maturation© for 20 minutes. At the end of the process, we obtain a vegetable which has maintained all its nutritional properties intact thanks to the absence of heat, is tender on the palate and with no signs of oxidation.

TECHNICAL FOCUS: COOKING AND OXIDASING VEGETABLES

Regardless of the system adopted, cooking changes the organoleptic properties of all foods, particularly of vegetables, and causes a loss of their nutritional properties. Therefore, the food taste, texture and aroma will vary, as well as the food colour, which decays due to oxidation.

PLATING

Lay the squid on the plate and put a rolled Savoy cabbage leaf next to it, burning it slightly with a blowpipe. Brush the squid with the pink pepper-flavoured oil and finally decorate with some anchovy-flavoured bread previously prepared through waveco®.

CHEF FOCUS

With induced maturation© we can tenderize flesh rich in connective tissue, such as squid, in a short time, and obtain a food which has maintained its original colour and nutritional properties and increased its taste and tenderness. Thanks to waveco® we can also rehydrate spices and seeds in a short time, thus achieving perfect flavouring; all through a natural process, which respects the raw material and enhances it properties.