Name: Squid with brandy & cream
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 50g butter; 1 large onion finely diced; 3 thyme sprigs, leaves stripped; 2 bay leaves; 6 garlic cloves chopped; 300ml tomato passata; 1kg cleaned large squid; sunflower oil for frying; 125ml brandy; 4 tbsp double cream; finely chopped flatleaf parsley to serve

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Squid with brandy & cream

Squid with brandy & cream

Valentine Warner

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Serves 4

More effort

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 1 hr and 15 mins

A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.13 ratingsRate

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This dish is fabulously rich and delicious, and would go well with some buttered rice

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Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

50g butter
1 large onion

finely diced
3 thyme

sprigs, leaves stripped
2 bay leaves
6 garlic cloves

chopped
300ml tomato passata
1kg cleaned large squid
sunflower oil

for frying
125ml brandy
4 tbsp double cream
finely chopped flatleaf parsley

to serve

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Nutrition: per serving

kcal537
fat28g
saturates12g
carbs13g
sugars6g
fibre1g
protein41g
salt1.29g

low

Method

step 1

Melt the butter in a casserole dish, then add the onion, thyme and bay leaves with a good grind of black pepper. Gently fry for about 15 mins until the onion is golden and soft. Only at this point stir in the garlic. Turn off the heat and stir in the passata. Leave to stand.
step 2

Cut the squid in half lengthways down the cone. Chop each half widthways into 2.5cm/1in ribbons. Cut up the fins and the tentacles to a similar size. Dry off any wetness from the squid with kitchen paper. It must be as dry as possible so it will fry and colour better.
step 3

Get a large frying pan and put on a high heat. When the pan is intensely hot, throw in a third of the squid with a small slug of sunflower oil and a generous pinch of salt. Fry hard, stirring occasionally, until well coloured. Tip the squid into the casserole. Repeat with the remaining squid, cooking it in batches twice more, adding more salt and oil with each.
step 4

Return the casserole to the heat and add 100ml water. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Add 100ml of the brandy and put the lid on. Simmer very gently for 40 mins, then another 20 mins with the lid slightly off, allowing the juices to reduce a little. When tender, stir in the rest of the brandy and the cream, and serve scattered with parsley.

RECIPE TIPS

SQUID KNOW-HOW

Squid is one of the most widely available types of seafood as it is found in every ocean and isn’t seasonal. This also makes it one of the cheapest – 1kg costs £5-£6. You can buy it fresh and frozen, and as freezing doesn’t affect the texture it’s just as good. For this recipe you need whole squid or squid tubes, but you could use rings if that is all you can find.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, March 2010

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A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.13 ratings

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