Serves 6-8 as a starter
[3-4 medium-sized squid]
Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
4 tablespoons flat leaf Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 large red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
4 fl ozs (110ml)extra virgin olive oil
freshly squeezed juice from half a lemon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil for grilling
Garnish: Rocket leaves with a few wedges of lemon
Method:
Prepare the squid.
Remove the intestines by grasping the head of the squid and gently pull it away from the body. The intestines will come out of the body. Cut the tentacles just above the eyes and set aside. Discard the eyes and the intestines. Pull the wings off the body and remove the skin, it comes off very easily under running cold water. Wash out the body. Insert your fingers into the top of the body cavity and remove the plastic-like quill and discard. There is a line running down the length of the squid where the quill was removed. Cut through this line from top to bottom. Remove any membrane inside and score deeply at an angle in both directions (this is important because it holds the dressing which is essential for the flavour of the dish). The squid should be ideally less than 6 inches (15cm) long for this dish, if it is more cut in half (not lengthways) before grilling otherwise it can be left whole.
To make the sauce, chop the garlic very finely. Add the seeded and chopped chilli, (use a mezzaluna if you have one) and the flat parsley. Continue to chop until very fine. Put into a bowl with the olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. (This sauce will keep a week in the fridge and is also good served with pasta, prawns or steak!).
Just before serving heat a chargrill or a cast iron grill pan. Toss the rocket leaves in a little olive oil. Rub the squid with olive oil and season on both sides with Maldon Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Put them on the very hot (smoking) chargrill for a few seconds on each side, just long enough for them to change colour and be marked by the grill. Place on a warm plate with a few dressed rocket leaves. Spoon a little dressing over the hot squid and serve with a wedge of lemon.
