Steamed stuffed squid, fennel/orange salad

For this dish you can buy 1 squid pp, if they are big enough. Or 2 or 3 small ones if bigger is not available. I like to clean them myself, but you can always try and ask your friendly fishmonger to do it for you. In that case ask him to pack the tentacles and fins with the pouches.

For 4 persons you'll need:

4 small prepared squid pouches no longer than 15 cm
125g minced pork
Tentacles from the squid
50g peeled raw prawns
1cm fresh root ginger, finely grated
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp chopped coriander
¼ tsp caster sugar
1½ tsp sesame oil
½ tsp salt
Freshly ground Sichuan peppercorns

2 spring onions, chopped plus 1 spring onion finely shredded, to garnish

For the sauce:

2 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil

Rinse out the squid pouches.

Roughly chop the tentacles and fins. Put them in a food processor with the prawns and minced pork. Blend to a coarse mixture. Or, like I did, just mix them with a fork. Scrape the mixture into a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients (except for the shredded spring onion and the sauce ingredients) and mix together well.

Spoon the stuffing into squid pouches. Secure the open ends with wooden toothpicks.

Set up a steamer with simmering water. Place the squid on a heatproof plate and put in a steamer when the water has boiled and turned down to a simmer. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and steam the squid for 20-25 minutes, until cooked through.

Meanwhile put the ingredients for the sauce into a small pan. Just before the squid are ready, warm the sauce through. Lift the squid on to a board and cut each one across into about 6 thin slices. Arrange squid on 4 warmed plates, spoon over some of the sauce and garnish with the spring onion shreds.

Recipe by Rick Stein

(Because my fish were so small I also made a salad and used the mandoline to shave a fennel bulb very thinly and did the same with a red onion. Got the parts out of a juicy orange and made a dressing of 2 tbsp orange juice, 1 tsp Dijon mustard and olive oil. Decorated the salad with some fresh mint and the green of the

fennel:)

Follow me on Instagram: @peterschoenmaker7. And have a look at my Kindle book 'Breakfast in Gascony' on Amazon.