Roasting is such an easy way to cook squid. Protected by a light flour coating, it becomes tender, yielding and softly caramelised around the edges – a touch more chewy than deep-fried squid, but in a good way. Chilli brings the dish alive: choose a variety that is pleasantly hot but not too fierce, as you’ll be encountering whole strips in the finished dish.
Serves 2
4 tablespoons rapeseed or olive oil
500g potatoes (unpeeled)
3–4 garlic cloves (unpeeled), lightly bashed
3 tablespoons plain flour
250g cleaned squid, with tentacles if you like
1–2 fairly large, not-too-hot red chillies, deseeded and sliced into fine strips
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges to serve
Preheat the oven to 200oC/Gas 6. Put the oil in a large roasting tin and place in the oven for 5 minutes until very hot. Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into roughly 3cm chunks. Add to the roasting tin with the bashed garlic and plenty of salt and pepper, toss in the oil and then roast in the oven for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, put the flour in a dish and season well with salt and pepper. Slice the squid bodies into 1cm thick rings, then turn them inside out, which helps them stay ‘open’ during cooking. Toss the rings and any tentacles in the seasoned flour.
After their 30 minutes, take the potatoes out of the oven and turn the setting up to 240oC/Gas 9. Stir the potatoes well. Push them to one side of the tray to create space for the squid. Put the squid pieces into the tray and stir gently to coat them in the hot oil. Return to the oven for 5–7 minutes until the squid is starting to colour on the base, then stir in the chilli slices and roast for another 5 minutes. Discard the garlic.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes, squid and chilli to warm serving bowls. Serve straight away, with lemon wedges for squeezing.