Squid with grilled red onions and vegetable salsa

Serves 4

Arrange the squid on the onions and spoon the salsa over and around (Jason Lowe)

I first had grilled onions in a Turkish restaurant in London's Stoke Newington, just sliced and simply grilled with sumac and pomegranate molasses. These are delicious and so simple – and perfect for the barbecue.

2 large red onions, peeled and cut into 1cm-thick slices
4 squid weighing about 150g, cleaned
Vegetable or corn oil for brushing
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salsa

2 large shallots, peeled, halved and finely chopped
1tbsp white wine vinegar
a small cucumber, halved lengthways, seeds scooped out and cut into cm dice
1 small red pepper, halved, seeded and cut into cm dice
10 radishes, cut into small cm dice
1 small bulb of fennel, cut into cm dice
1tbsp green herbs (fennel, chervil, parsley), chopped
4-5tbsp olive oil

First make the salsa: bring the vinegar and shallots to the boil then transfer to a bowl and mix with all of the other ingredients. Preheat the barbecue, lightly brush the onions with oil and grill for about 3-4 minutes on each side on a medium heat; then transfer to a serving dish. Cut the squid tubes into 4 evenly sized pieces, season the tubes and tentacles and lightly oil, then cook briefly for just a couple of minutes on each side. Arrange on the onions and spoon the salsa over and around.