Squid Oreo

The Squid Oreo, instantly recognizable for its striking jet black color, is a tapa that has held its place on the gastronomic stage for years, captivating diners with both its bold visual identity and its playful nod to the classic calamari sandwich.

Building on this well-established idea, chef Carlos Maestre revisits and reinterprets its execution.

He preserves the deep, unmistakable flavour of squid while transforming the eating experience itself. The traditional structure gives way to a lighter, more technical approach, introducing a new sensation on the palate that balances crispness, delicacy, and aeration without losing its maritime soul.

From traditional sandwich to dehydrated meringue technique

Following the conceptual line of the gazpacho sandwich, the chef replaces conventional bread with an airy structure. In this version, the “bun” is made by dehydrating a squid ink meringue in the oven, resulting in a light, crisp piece with an intense black color.

The technical basis is clear: to work with an assembled structure that, after drying, maintains volume and controlled brittleness. This is where Albuwhip Free Range comes into play , our responsibly sourced albumen powder from free-range hens.

Albuwhip Free Range offers the same whipping properties as a traditional albumen powder: excellent aeration capacity, structural stability and regularity of the result. Its neutral profile allows the squid ink to be integrated without aromatic interference, favoring a clean definition of the marine flavor.

A reinterpreted aioli in airy form

The second sub recipe is an aioli air or meringue, also made from Albuwhip Free Range. Instead of a classic emulsion with fresh egg, an airy texture is constructed that maintains the taste profile of aioli but with a much lighter mouthfeel.

The albumen’s ability to whip and stabilize emulsions makes it possible to turn a traditionally dense sauce into an ethereal, stable and technically precise component.

Filling and versatility of the concept

The filling remains flexible. In this version, the chef includes fried squid, staying true to the essence of the original sandwich. The contrast between the crisp dehydrated meringue, the lightness of the aioli air and the texture of the fried squid creates a dynamic interplay of textures that surprises without losing coherence.

The Squid Oreo is a clear example of how a popular tapa can be reinterpreted through technique, using contemporary tools such as powdered albumen to achieve lighter, more stable and visually striking structures. A recipe that connects memory, creativity and technical precision in a single bite.