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Salt and pepper Squid
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Salt & pepper squid

Little rays of sunshine

Salt and pepper Squid
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45 mins
Not Too Tricky

serves 4

About the recipe

Crispy but tender squid with a hum of pepper heat, complemented by fragrant herbs, crispy garlic and a hit of vinegar – this is my evolution of the classic dish that I know you all love. Traditionally, it comes from Cantonese cuisine, where heat was achieved using finely ground peppercorns, but I couldn’t resist adding a few chillies here for double pleasure.


nutrition per serving

3
4
3

Calories

1
8
.
7
g

Fat

2
.
4
g

Saturates

1
g

Sugars

1
.
4
g

Salt

2
2
.
6
g

Protein

2
2
.
6
g

Carbs

1
.
1
g

Fibre

of an adult’s reference intake


Recipe From

The cover of Jamie Oliver's Comfort Food cookbook

Jamie's Comfort Food

By Jamie Oliver

Ingredients

½ a bunch of fresh mint (15g)

4 spring onions

8 medium whole squid (500g), gutted, cleaned, from sustainable sources

vegetable oil, for frying

white pepper

100g plain flour

1 small handful of fresh mixed-colour chillies

4 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon white or red wine vinegar

Method

  1. Pick the mint leaves into a small bowl of cold water to ensure they stay super-fresh.
  2. Trim the spring onions and halve across the middle, then finely slice lengthways and add to the water bowl.
  3. Pat the squid dry with kitchen paper, then use a regular eating knife to lightly score the inside of the squid at ½cm intervals at an angle. Turn the squid through 90° and do the same again to create a criss-cross pattern.
  4. When you’re ready to cook, just under half fill a large sturdy pan with oil – the oil should be 8cm deep, but never fill your pan more than half full – and place on a medium-high heat. Use a thermometer to tell when it’s ready (170°C), or add a piece of potato and wait until it turns golden – that’s the sign that it’s ready to go.
  5. While it heats, tip 1 heaped tablespoon of white pepper and the flour into a large bowl with a pinch of sea salt. Add the squid, toss and mix together to coat, then leave in the flour for a few minutes while you prick the chillies – if some are bigger, halve and deseed them first – then peel and finely slice the garlic 1mm thick, ideally on a mandolin (use the guard!).
  6. When you’re ready to fry, add half the squid and chillies – it’s important to cook in two batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan. When it’s all looking golden and lovely (after about 1½ minutes), add half the garlic for a final minute.
  7. Use a slotted spoon to scoop everything into a bowl or pan lined with kitchen paper to drain while you cook the second batch.
  8. Whip out the paper, then cut the squid into bite-sized pieces and return to the bowl. Drizzle with the vinegar, add a good pinch of seasoning, the drained mint leaves and spring onion curls, toss it all together and serve right away.

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