Squid romesco

Mention Nigel Slater, and my heart is all a-flutter. He is a genius in the kitchen, and I love his writing style: he's unpretentious and curious about the world. He sees the beauty in simple things. And cooks like a God. He's the main reason why I buy The Observer every Sunday. Last Sunday The Observer Magazine featured a beautiful piece on a culinary trip to San Sebastian and a short recipe for Squid Romesco. To read the article including the recipe in full, please follow this link.

I wanted to try this recipe with pasta. As someone who's been "enduring" pasta dinners for years, I am always on the lookout for new ideas, and I thought Nigel's Squid Romesco would be fab served with pasta. And so it was. I have adapted the recipe as I didn't have canned peppers, anchovies or sherry vinegar.

Squid Romesco
2 medium Romano peppers
olive oil for brushing + sauce (about 4 tbsp)
4 baby squid
a slice of white bread
smoked paprika
balsamic vinegar
a dash of sherry
salt
2 cloves of garlic, crushed

Start by roasting the Romano peppers in the oven at 180C for about 30mins. Brush them with the olive oil before roasting. Once ready, remove the skins, and whizz the peppers with the olive oil, crustless white bread (I used the inside of a slightly stale baguette), paprika and balsamic vinegar. You will get a lovely bright red sauce.
Add the chopped/crushed garlic to a frying pan with a bit of the olive oil. Once it is softened, add the squid which you need to clean and score a bit. Add a dash of sherry. Cook quickly, or it will get rubbery.
Serve with the pepper sauce which has to be warmed in a small pan. And pasta too if you like.

I must say, it was absolutely delicious, I will be definitely cooking it again.

As it is my blog, I am allowed to boast. Ain't I? I have tweeted the photo of my pasta to Nigel himself. Imagine how thrilled I was to receive this reply:

And for that, Nigel, I'm forever yours. ;)

Lovely Janice from Farmersgirl Kitchen blog is running a monthly Dish of the Month challenge. She is inviting bloggers to cook any recipe from Nigel Slater's The Kitchen Diaries (or any online sources).

Submitting this recipe to #CookitBlogit linky which is hosted by Crazy with twins blog this week.