When you´re away from home, although now we seem to have two homes (and how very lucky and blessed we are to be in this position) there are things that you miss. Of course, the most obvious is loved ones, but with technology, keeping in touch, even face to face phone calls and cheap flights make the distance shorter.
Other things like a special pillow, or a favourite garment which was left behind sometimes make you feel nostalgic. For me though it’s all about the kitchens. If I could combine the contents of both kitchens and magically transport them with me backwards and forwards….but well, that’s just silly. Although I can look up favourite and remembered recipes on the internet, it’s not quite the same as flicking through a well loved cookery book, often late at night propped up in bed with that comfy old pillow.
Getting back to Spain allowed me to become reacquainted with some old ‘friends’. Most recently it has been Moro, the Cookbook by the husband and wife team, Sam and Sam Clark. Must get confusing in their house when someone rings up.
The first recipe for the moment was inspired by one of theirs for stuffed squid – of course, I made a few changes based on what I had available, here’s my version. This is a fabulous dish for entertaining (although easy to prepare for an everyday meal) as you can prepare it ahead up until the final griddling of the squid, which only takes about 5 minutes.
To serve four as a main course
- 8 medium squid (no larger than about 30cm) I used to enormous ones to serve 2. These should be cleaned and the tentacles and wings separated from the body
- 8 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large Spanish onion finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (I crushed)
- ½ red pepper finely diced (not in the original recipe)
- 2 fresh bay leaves (or use dried)
- 200ml fino sherry (or a dry white wine)
- 1 large buch flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 2 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon of hot pimentón (not in original recipe)
- Salt and Pepper
- Finely chop the squid wings and tentacles (I kept the tentacles whole and cooked them on the side).
Gently fry the onions and peppers (if using) for about 15 minutes until soft and the onion is starting to turn brown. Add the bay, garlic and chopped squid and cook for about 3 minutes then add the seasoning, half the parsley and the fino. Cook for a further couple of minutes until the wine has almost evaporated then remove from the heat. Remove the bay leaves and stir in the chopped egg and most of the rest of the parsley, check the seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Use this mixture to stuff the squid, securing with a cocktail stick to keep the filling in. When you are ready to eat, heat a griddle pan until it is smoking hot and cook the squid for about 5 minutes, turning to ensure that it is charred all round.
Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a piece of lemon and the rest of the parsley sprinkled over.
Chica Andaluza 