NEXT SUPPERCLUB ITALIAN AND SPANISH FUSION NIGHT ON 25/05
Here we are with our second post dedicated to our Menu for the PopUp in Clapham at The Jam Tree cocktail bar. Tickets incredibly sold out on the first week of sales. There’ll be fifty of you joining us for our first pop-up of the year. No pressure…
We nicknamed this recipe as “the Daring One” aka the one who made Fabio wrinkle his nose and say: “Do you really wanna do this?”
DISCLOSURE:
Broadbean and Pecorino cheese, especially in the area of Rome and surroundings, is a must dish symbolizing the arrival of spring. A marriage made in heaven as the saltiness and acidity of Pecorino Romano cheese gets completely balanced by the soft delicate flavour of fresh broadbeans. So this is a winning combo. End of story.
There has been quite a lot going on about squid and spicy sausage, mostly Chorizo. Sold as something quite trendy, it certainly didn’t slip out of the fingers – well, forks – of London foodies and it’s now a lot common to find it on tapas menus (I made it too, in my own way, about 1 year ago).
Anyways, the point is that the juices and the spicy kick of the sausage, let it be chorizo or some other flavoursome variety, give to the squid a 3D depth in terms of taste: the delicate, tender squid, lightly seasoned, meets these flaming explosions of guilty yumminess that stick to your food memories as something you can still cry for.
So far, so good, we didn’t change anything. Actually we took two amazing combinations.
BUT WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH THEM?
Let’s say that duets that work perfectly together, sometimes just don’t fit the complexity of an orchestra. So I wanted to find out if Italian Nonnas are still right in saying that you should never put cheese on your fish as if I wouldn’t put Pecorino on my cod, I’ve been always so tempted to sprinkle it on my squid…
FAVATA PICCANTE DI SEPPIE E PECORINO
Serves 4 as a starter
200g Broadbean
40g Italian spicy sausage
2 medium Squid
30g Pecorino romano
1 Garlic clove
1 bunch of Parsley
Salt and Pepper
EVO oil
LET’S COOK!
Squid preparation: Cut the head in two halves and then in 4 smaller parcels. With the help of a knife, make some diagonal cuts on its surface so to obtain a grill (see picture). This will help you both making your squid much more handsome and keeping it a bit more flat when you will have to char-grill it afterwards.
Grate your Pecorino cheese. Finely chop parsley and mix them all together.
Coarsely dice the spicy sausage.
Boil your broadbean for about 2 minutes in well boiling water. Add a pinch of salt and drain.
Pre-heat a pan with two table spoons of EVOO oil and a garlic clove for about 1 minute. Add the spicy sausage. Leave it cook for about 4 minutes. You want the sausage to brown slightly and, mostly, to release the juices and aromas coming from the fat and the chilli/paprika it has been made from. This will give extra depth and colour to your dish.
Pre-heat a grill for about 3 minutes. Place the squid. It’ll need 1 minute for each side. It has to be nice and tender. If you leave it on the grill for too much time you will get that chewiness which is not really what you want from your fresh seafood. Use fresh seafood!
Add the broadbeans to the spicy sausage and cook for another minute.
Add 2/3 of your Pecorino-Parsley mixture to the pan. Add the squid parcels. Remove the pan from the fire and toss thoroughly for 1 minute or less.
We like to serve this dish quite rustic. We plate it on a pan, trying to leave the quid on top and then adding the rest of the Pecorino cheese on top. Drizzle of olive oil, bit of cracked black peppercorns and you are ready to eat.
…if you are looking for more yummy recipes come to our next supperclub or SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
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