Stuffed Squid, Red Peppers, Chickpeas, Olives and Sherry - Chef Recipe by Nathan Outlaw

Ingredients

4 medium squid, bodies 20–25cm long, cleaned and tentacles reserved
Olive oil for cooking and to drizzle
2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 red peppers, peeled, cored, deseeded and diced
4 ripe plum tomatoes, cored and each cut into 6 pieces
100g pitted black olives, quartered
400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
16 basil leaves, finely sliced
500mL dry sherry
100g unsalted butter, diced
500mL fish stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat your oven to 200 C / Fan 185 C / Gas 6.

Place a sauté pan over a medium heat and add a generous drizzle of olive oil. When hot, add the shallots, garlic and red peppers and sweat for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and olives and cook for a further 5 minutes until the tomatoes soften and begin to collapse. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the chickpeas and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Lay the cleaned squid pouches in an oven tray and season all over with salt and pepper. Season the tentacles too, but set these aside on a plate.

When the stuffing mixture is cool, stir through most of the sliced basil. Now, using a spoon, fill each squid pouch with as much stuffing as it will take. If there is any stuffing mixture left, add that to the tray too. Pour the sherry over the stuffed squid and dot with the butter. Bake for 15–20 minutes, basting with the mixture every 5 minutes. Pour on the fish stock and cook for another 10 minutes, adding the tentacles to the tray for the final 5 minutes.

Place a stuffed squid pouch on each warmed plate with the tentacles alongside and spoon on some of the sauce. Scatter over the remaining sliced basil, add a drizzle of olive oil and serve straight away.

Credits: This is an edited extract from Everyday Seafood by Nathan Outlaw published by Quadrille $39.99 and is available in stores nationally.

Photo Credits: This is an edited extract from Everyday Seafood by Nathan Outlaw published by Quadrille $39.99 and is available in stores nationally.