Things I have been cooking lately #78: Chorizo and squid with couscous

This is another one of Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals. This time I decided to to go bold and attempt to cook something I have never made before – squid. Not knowing very much about squid, I didn’t think to ask for it to be gutted and cleaned by the fishmonger… meaning I had to do it myself. It wasn’t too complicated. You just cut off the tentacles and then pull out the ball of guts in the middle and rinse the whole thing out. If you are going to clean your own squid I would highly recommend wearing rubber gloves while you do it otherwise you are likely to end up with stinky squid hands for a couple of days after… trust me. I know…

Chorizo and squid with couscous

2 spring onions, trimmed
50g baby spinach1/2 a bunch of fresh mint
150g couscous
1 lemon
200g baby squid, gutted and cleaned
80g chorizo, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced and deseeded
1/2 tablespoon runny honey
Balsamic vinegar
1 clove of garlic, crushed
A handful of black olives
50g feta cheese
1 heaped tablespoon harissa paste
100ml fat free natural yoghurt
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Boil your kettle and put a large pan over a high heat. Put the spring onions, mint and the leafy top part of the mint in your food processor with a pinch of salt and pepper and blitz until fine. Remove the blade, add the couscous and 1 cup of boiling water. Put the lid on the processor and set aside.

Cut open the squid tubes and using a dinner knife, lightly score the inside in 1/2cm crisscrosses. Then slice into 1cm strips with a sharp knife and roughly slice the tentacles.

Put the chorizo in the pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the peppers and cook for about 4 minutes. Then add the squid, the honey and a splash of vinegar. Add the garlic and the olives and cook for a couple more minutes. Be careful not to overcook because the squid will turn to rubber if it’s cooked for a minute too long.

Drain and then fluff up the couscous. Mix in the juice of half a lemon and tip onto a big platter. Spoon over the squid, peppers and chorizo over the couscous. Crumble over the feta along with the remaining mint leaves. Put the yoghurt in a small bowl and ripple through the harissa paste. Serve with the couscous.

Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a starter