Chorizo-stuffed squid with potatoes, capers and sage

Ingredients to serve 4 (6-8 as tapas)

Chorizo-stuffed squid with potatoes, capers and sage by Ben Tish

10 cocktail sticks, cut in half, soaked in cold water
20 baby squid, cleaned, cartilage removed, tentacles removed and reserved
5-6 spicy cooking chorizo, peeled, finely chopped
3 medium King Edward potatoes, peeled, cut into 3cm dice
2 cloves garlic, skin on, crushed
15 sage leaves, roughly chopped
50g unsalted butter
25g miniature, pickled capers
Zest of half a lemon
Olive oil for cooking
Sea salt and black pepper

Baby squid are bite-sized pockets perfect for stuffing with all manner of food and chorizo is a classic Spanish filling. Here we use a soft, semi-cured cooking chorizo with some kick. The little squid pockets are sealed with a cocktail stick and then pan-roasted. As the squid cooks, the roasting juices flavour the chorizo filling. Delicious!

Knead the chopped chorizo in a bowl to form a rough paste. Take a piece of the paste and form into a shape to fit the squid cavity. Fill each squid to about three quarters full and press it down. Do not overfill the squids or they may burst on cooking as the chorizo expands. Secure each squid tube with a cocktail stick and reserve until ready to cook.

Cook the potatoes in salted water until tender and then drain well. Heat a non-stick sauté pan over a medium heat, add a lug of olive oil, the crushed garlic cloves and the potatoes and season well. Cook over a moderate heat, tossing occasionally to crisp and caramelise the potatoes evenly.

Meanwhile, place another non-stick pan over a moderate heat. Season the squid pockets and tentacles with salt and pepper. Add a lug of oil to the pan and add the squid. Cook for 2 minutes on each side until caramelised. Add the butter and sage and when foaming, spoon the herby butter over the squid pockets to cook further. The filling will feel firm to the touch when cooked.

Now add the capers and lemon zest and remove the pan from the heat. When the potatoes are ready, transfer to kitchen paper to drain. Arrange the squids and potatoes on serving plates and spoon over the buttery pan juices, capers and zest.

Taken from 'Salt Yard – Food and Wine from Spain and Italy' by Sanja Morris, Ben Tish and Simon Mullins (Piquillo Publishing, £30)