A delicious choice of starter for seafood enthusiasts, from Ju Kim of Heat.
Ingredients
For the stuffing and squid:
- 350 g black pudding (roughly chopped)
- 1 medium red onion (diced)
- 100 g pancetta (cut into strips)
- 1 tblsp thyme (finely chopped)
- 2 handfuls of stale bread
- zest of 1 lemon
- 8 small squid tubes (cleaned thoroughly)
- 150 ml fish stock
For the tomato sauce:
- 450 g cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 1.5 tblsp rosemary (finely chopped)
- 1.5 tblsp basil (torn)
- 1.5 tblsp parsley (finely chopped)
- 1 medium onion (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- 250 ml white wine
- 250 ml fish stock
Method
For the Stuffing:
- With a little olive oil, fry off pancetta, onion and thyme for 2 minutes.
- Stir in roughly chopped black pudding and turn up heat to highest setting in order to crisp up the mixture and cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Add stuffing mixture into a blender with the bread and lemon zest and pulse until evenly mixed.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
For the Squid:
- Carefully, insert the mixture into the squid tubes using a tea spoon, making sure that the stuffing goes all the way to the top.
- Secure the bottom end with a toothpick.
- Rub olive oil onto the squid and sear in a hot frying pan for 2 minutes.
- Place seared squid in a shallow oven dish of fish stock and cook in oven at 190?C for 25 minutes turning every 10 minutes.
- While the squid tenderises, prepare the sauce.
For the Sauce:
- Fry the onion with some olive oil over a medium heat until it softens.
- Add garlic and the halved cherry tomatoes.
- Gently move the pan in a circular motion to prevent the tomato from sticking to the pan, without breaking their shape.
- Turn up heat and add the wine and stock, along with the rosemary and thyme.
- Stir gently and reduce the liquid by half.
- Season with salt and pepper.
To Serve:
- Sprinkle the torn basil over the sauce.
- Spoon four to five tomato halves into the middle of a shallow bowl.
- Place two stuffed squids on top of the tomato (with cocktail sticks removed).
- Drizzle a tablespoon of sauce over the squid and another spoonful around the plate.
- If desired, place a sliver of crispy pancetta in between the two squids to add another texture to the dish.
