I’m not sure why but I’ve got out of the habit of keeping a bag of squid or calamari in the freezer but dishes like this are a good reason to do so. Most supermarkets sell it in 500g bags, the little sacs and their tentacles individually frozen so they can be used as and when. My fishmonger sells larger squid, also cleaned and prepared. Its mild, almost sweet flavour suits the contrast of spicy chorizo, here cooked into a luscious stew with tomatoes and onion, the dish finished with peas and coriander. Serve it over boiled new potatoes, with crusty bread or with pasta; a short variety like messicani or campanelle would work best. It cooks relatively quickly and reheats perfectly but add the coriander just before serving.
Serves 4
Prep: 25 min
Cook: 45 min
2 red onions
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves
200g/4 smoked cooking chorizo
500g tomatoes or 400g can chopped tomatoes
500g prepared squid
400g messicano or campanelle or
500g small new potatoes
300g frozen petits pois
50g bunch coriander
Halve, peel and chop the onion. Soften in a spacious frying/sauté pan, stirring often while you peel and chop the garlic and slice each chorizo sausage into 5 chunky pieces. If using fresh tomatoes, cover with boiling water, count to 40, drain, peel and chop. Remove the tentacles from inside the squid sacs and split in half. Halve the sacs by slicing down the length then cut into chunky strips approximately 5x1cm. Stir the chorizo into the softened onion with the garlic and cook, turning as they swell and brown. After about 10 minutes when thoroughly cooked, stir in the squid, tossing continuously as the pieces curl and the tentacles kick. Add the tomatoes and their liquid and let everything bubble up, simmering for a few minutes. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions, adding the peas for the last few minutes of cooking. If using potatoes, scrape and boil until tender, adding the peas for the last few minutes of cooking. Stir drained pasta or potatoes (and peas) into the squid. Chop the coriander bunch. Checking the seasoning and add the chopped coriander. Mix and serve.