Ingredients
| approx. 500g squid tubes | |
| olive oil | |
| sea salt and black pepper | |
| zest and juice of 1 lemon | |
| 1 bulb fennel | |
| 3 small navel oranges | |
| scant handful of black olives, pitted | |
| small handful of flat-leafed parsley, roughly chopped |
I find the question of lunch in mid-summer to be a lot of overheated, still-bloated-from-breakfast indecision. Something light, yet sustaining; anything revolving around rocket or baby spinach never really seems to cut it. The kitchen is my refuge during summer. My predominantly Scottish roots mean that I’m not very good in heat, with a tendency to hide in the shadows, all prickly and red-faced. Somewhat ironic. Squid and orange may seem a bit unorthodox, but I’ve eaten lots of this all over the Mediterranean, where they know what’s what and have been doing it for millennia – honourable mentions to a wee spot in Mljet in Croatia and somewhere in Sicily. It’s perfect on a hot summer’s day – light, refreshing and, crucially, not too filling.
Instructions
| 1. | Wash the squid under cold water and roughly cut into 3-4 inch pieces. |
| 2. | Add to a bowl with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a generous seasoning of salt and black pepper and the zest and juice of the lemon and pop in the fridge to let the flavours acquaint themselves with one another as you work on everything else. |
| 3. | Thinly slice the fennel bulb, reserving the fronds, and add to a bowl with a little olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper. |
| 4. | Using a paring knife, slice the skin off the oranges, removing any pith along with it. |
| 5. | Slice into rounds and add to the sliced fennel. |
| 6. | Cut the olives into quarters lengthways and add to the fennel mix. |
| 7. | Get a decent, heavy frying pan going over a high heat. |
| 8. | Add a little olive oil, let it heat up, and quickly fry the squid in batches, adding more olive oil if necessary. |
| 9. | Allow the squid to cool a little before folding into the fennel mix with the chopped parsley. |
| 10. | Taste and season accordingly, and serve immediately. scattered with fennel fronds. |
Recipes and images
extracted from
Food Worth Making
Volume II by Sam
Mannering.Photography
and styling by Sam
Mannering. $65 from
sammannering.com