THE FOOD EDIT: STUFFED SQUID WITH CHARRED PEPPER SAUCE

I love how simple this dish is to prepare. Stuffing, whether for meats, vegetables or fish are the best, especially in Winter when we are looking for food that is cosy and warms us from the inside out. The thing with stuffing is you can play around with it, adding extra ingredients in or leaving out whatever doesn't work for you; the stuffing can even be made a night in advance.  Once stuffed, it absorbs all the flavour goodness making it not only a real show stopper of a dish. the flavours are heavenly. The squid takes no time at all to cook - it requires minimal effort, and it's one you're sure to impress your guests with! 

Ingredients

5 x Squids

2 cups Pearl Cous Cous

100g Feta

1/2 cup chopped Almonds

1/2 cup chopped Parsley

1/2 cup chopped Dill

1/2 cup diced Shallot

PEPPER SAUCE

2 x Red Capsicum

1/2 tin chopped Tomatoes

30g Ground Almonds

2 x Garlic Cloves

1tbsp Red Wine Vinegar

1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1tsp Paprika

Method

TO clean the squid, remove tentacles and place aside.

CLEAN the inside of the squid, either by pulling all of the insides out with your fingers, or with a spoon.

DICE the tentacles, and fry off in a pan with the diced shallots for a few minutes.

COOK the cous cous as per packet directions.

DRAIN and let cool.

IN a bowl, combine all the ingredients and toss - your stuffing is now ready.

WITH a spoon, start adding your stuffing to the squid.

THREAD a tooth pick through the end of the squid hood to keep all of the stuffing inside. 

HEAT a BBQ or griddle pan, rub oil and salt all over the squid and char the squid, turning occasionally. This should take no longer than 10 minutes.

FOR the pepper sauce, pre-heat the oven to 200C.

DRIZZLE the capsicum with oil and roast, turning occasionally until the skin blisters (25-30min)

TRANSFER to a bowl and cover with cling wrap, setting aside for 5 minutes.

PEEL capsicum and chop, then add to a blender with tomatoes, ground almonds, vinegar, paprika and garlic.

BLEND until smooth, adding the oil in a steady stream.

HEAT a pan to medium, and cook the blended sauce for a further 10 minutes.  

PLACE the charred squid on a plate, and pour over the heated pepper sauce.

FINISH with a sprinkling of finely chopped parsley.

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WORDS AND RECIPE

Douk Konstantaras

STYLING

Heidi Albertiri

PHOTOGRAPHY

Lucy Alcorn