Chef's Recipes

Grilled squid with rouille and chilli

"Great squid with a little live fire doesn't need too many accompaniments," says Jordan Toft of Sydney's Bert's.

By Jordan Toft
  • 30 mins preparation
  • 5 mins cooking plus preparing barbecue, cooling
  • Serves 6
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"Salty summer swims are only matched by the smell of these two ingredients coming together on the walk from the sand. A lick of rich and smoky rouille and a squeeze of lemon puts me back in the Mediterranean."

Ingredients

  • 1½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 6 small squid (150gm each), cleaned, skin on, tentacles reserved
  • Lemon halves, wrapped in muslin (optional), to serve
Rouille
  • 125 ml (½ cup) fish stock
  • 1 tsp (firmly packed) saffron
  • 30 gm (1 slice) stale sourdough bread, crusts removed, coarsely torn
  • ½ garlic clove
  • ½ tsp finely chopped guajillo chilli (see note), plus extra, finely chopped and crushed to serve
  • ½ tsp Dijon mustard
  • ½ tsp tomato paste
  • 1½ egg yolks
  • 150 ml grapeseed or other neutral oil
  • Juice of ½ lemon

Method

  • 1
    Burn down coals on a charcoal barbecue in a pile until embers are ashed over and reduced to medium-high heat (20-30 minutes), then spread embers out in an even layer. Alternatively, preheat a barbecue to medium-high heat.
  • 2
    Meanwhile, for rouille, simmer fish stock and saffron in a small saucepan over medium heat to infuse (5 minutes). Remove from heat, add bread, soak until absorbed and cooled (5 minutes). Crush garlic and chilli in a mortar and pestle to a fine paste. Add mustard and tomato paste and stir to combine. Add soaked bread and mash to a paste. Transfer to a bowl, add egg yolk and whisking constantly, add oil in a thin, steady stream until thick and emulsified. Season to taste, add lemon juice to taste and thin with a little water if desired. Makes 300ml; any remaining rouille will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for 4 days.
  • 3
    Whisk lemon juice and 3 tsp olive oil in a bowl until emulsified and season to taste. Lightly oil squid with remaining oil and grill, turning, until almost cooked (2 minutes each side). Brush with lemon and oil mixture, then grill for another 10-15 seconds each side until just cooked.
  • 4
    Slice squid, keeping its shape intact. Spoon a large dollop of rouille onto plates. Top with squid, drizzle with extra olive oil, scatter with extra chilli and serve with lemon.

Notes

Guajillo chillies are available from Mexican food suppliers, herbies.com.au and essentialingredient.com.au. If it's unavailable, substitute another mild dried chilli or Aleppo pepper.
Drink suggestion: A crisp albariño with notes of sea spray, such as 2016 Bodegas Castro Martin "Sobre Lias" from Rías Baixas in Green Spain, Galicia. Drink suggestion by Adrian Filiuta.

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  • undefined: Jordan Toft