- For the dressing
- 100g piquillo peppers
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 50ml good sherry vinegar
- 15g honey
- 1 tsp Maldon sea salt, finely ground
- 100ml grapeseed oil
- 50ml light, fruity extra virgin olive oil
- For the chorizo
- 2 cooking chorizo sausages, cut in half
- lengthwise
- To serve
- 40g rocket leaves
- olive oil
Sautéed squid with chorizo and piquillo pepper dressing
Russell Brown
23rd March 2018
Sautéed squid with chorizo and piquillo pepper dressing
Cooked well, squid is tender, sweet and delicious. It is a case of extremes, though, and it needs either really high heat for a very short time or long, slow cooking at low temperatures.
I prefer the really high heat approach; the smoky notes you get from chargrilling, or the crisp finish from a light flour coating and hot oil, are a delight.You still retain some of the texture of the squid but it doesn’t become tough.
I can’t remember where I first saw the idea of freezing squid to make it more
tender but I do feel it works. Lay the cleaned, dry squid between layers of baking
parchment, freeze overnight and then defrost in the fridge. There doesn’t seem to be any loss of flavour but the result is a more delicate dish.
serves 4 as a starter
Ingredients
Method
1. Start by adding the squid to the buttermilk
mix (this can be done 24 hours ahead and
refrigerated).
2. Next, make the dressing. Place all the
ingredients except the oils in a small food
processor and blend to smooth pur.e. Gradually
blend in the oils and then adjust the seasoning.
Transfer the dressing to a plastic squeeze bottle.
3. Cook the halved chorizo in a dry non-stick
pan, caramelizing the surface well. Turn to finish
cooking and then drain on some paper towel.
4. Drain the squid well. Combine the flour and
semolina and season heavily. Toss the squid
pieces in the flour mix, coating evenly. Put the
squid in a sieve, shake well to remove any excess
flour. Using a non-stick pan, shallow fry the
squid very quickly in smoking hot oil. Do this
in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan, then
drain on paper towel and season with lemon
juice and sea salt.
5. To serve, lay a piece of chorizo on each plate,
mound the squid beside it, toss the rocket with a
little olive oil and a pinch of salt, add this to the
plates and then squeeze big dots of the dressing
onto the plate.
NOTE: This recipe makes more dressing than
you need but keeps in the fridge and makes
a good dip or sauce for a chorizo and egg
sandwich!
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