Despite being one of the most luxurious dishes to be fished from the sea, the process of cleaning and preparing a squid is actually easier than you might think, all you will need is a sharp knife, some cold water and five minutes to spare. 
                                    
To begin with, wash your hands.  Secondly, take the squid and gently pull the tentacles away from the body.  Next, feel inside the body with your fingers until you locate the quill, a bone like shard of plastic, pull it out of the squid and discard as this particular piece of the squid does not have any culinary use.  Cut the top end off the squid to create a tube shape open at both ends. 
 
Rinse inside the squid with the cold water you have prepared and pull the ears (the wing like flaps) from the body.  Once you have done this, proceed to pull the purplish coloured skin from the ears and body to leave only white meat. 
 
Following this, take a knife, again making sure that it is sharp, and slice the tentacles away from the guts by slicing just below the eyes.  Check the centre of the tentacles for the hard beak which can also be discarded along with the guts of the squid.  If desired, the ink sack can be retained for use in seafood pasta or a risotto dish.
 
Either slice the body of the squid into manageable rings, or alternatively cut down one side of it, opening it out to scrape away any traces of guts remaining inside the body.  Once this is completed, score the inside of the body lightly in a cross-hatch pattern and finally, dry off the squid before cooking.
 
Keep in mind that squid, or calamari, can become chewy and quite tough if cooked for too long.  High heat cooking methods such as stir frying, deep frying or grilling are good applications for squid but should not be done for more than two minutes, and thus, it requires constant attention.  To cook slowly using a low heat, roasting is a good example, leave the body whole and fill with stuffing.  Low heat recipes for calamari will require cooking the meat for thirty minutes or more. 
 
A final top tip for succulent calamari is to soak the squid in a bath of lemon juice.  The acid in the liquid serves to make the meat tender as well as adding an extra zingy taste.
 
Squid is typically served along with lemons or garlic mayonnaise when deep fried and battered.  Other alternatives include pasta, couscous or steamed white rice with salad and olive oil, however it often relies on the method of which the squid is initially cooked, and of course the preference of the diners.  Bon appetite.

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