‘Italian food is famous for being simple to put together, and nowhere is this illustrated better than at the River Café. Its series of pocket books is crammed with ideas for brilliantly fast and utterly delicious plates of food that can sit as happily on a lap for a television supper as on a dinner-party plate.
Squid is remarkably cheap compared with other types of seafood, and there is plenty of it about. Don't be put off by the thought of the preparation, as you can always ask your friendly fishmonger to clean it for you.
Once that's done, the recipe only takes about 10 minutes to put together-not bad for something that tastes so superb. You can turn this dish into a more substantial supper by tossing the squid through some soft cannellini beans or pasta, or piling them onto olive-oil-doused bruschettas'
Thomasina Miers
Roasted squid stuffed with chilli and parsley
Extract from the River Café Pocket Books Fish & Shellfish Published by Ebury Press Ingredients
4 medium squid, cleaned 5 fresh chillies, cut in half lengthways, de-seeded and chopped 3tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley 2tbsp lemon juice, plus 1 lemon cut into quarters 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped 1tbsp dried oregano 200g rocket Extra-virgin olive oil
Method
Preheat the oven to 230˚C/gas mark 8. Mix the lemon juice with 4tbsp of olive oil. Add half the chillies and the garlic and season. Stir in 1tbsp of parsley. Divide the mixture into four and stuff inside each squid. Mix the remainder of the chillies with 3tbsp of olive oil and season to make a sauce.
Heat a large ovenproof dish and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle the oregano over each squid, season and place in the dish. Turn over, season and place in the oven. Roast for 5-6 minutes. The squid should be slightly brown. Serve with the chilli sauce, the remaining parsley, the rocket and the lemon quarters.
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