CUTTLEFISH & SAMFAINA

Samfaina is a Catalan vegetable dish made from courgettes, aubergines, red pepper and tomato, similar to ratatouille, though everything is chopped more finely. It is usually served as a sauce, typically alongside cod, though I love it with cuttlefish. Serve it in a terracotta dish with a big spoon for scooping up all the juices, and with plain rice to make it a main meal.

FOR 4

90ml extra virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing

1 large courgette, diced

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 aubergine, diced

1 large red Spanish or Italian pepper, diced

2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1 onion, diced

1 dried chilli

4 ripe tomatoes, diced

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon smoked sweet paprika

125ml white wine

600g cleaned cuttlefish (allow 150g per person)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Put 15ml of olive oil into a pan on a medium heat. When hot, add the courgettes and season – you want them to colour and caramelize but retain their texture. When they reach this stage (around a couple of minutes), remove to a plate. Do the same with the aubergine, adding another 15ml of oil, and the same again with the red pepper, removing them all to the plate of courgettes.

Add another 15ml of olive oil to the same pan along with the garlic and onion – season and cook until soft and golden. Add the chilli, tomatoes and bay leaves and cook down to a paste. Then add the paprika and put all the caramelized vegetables back into the pan. Pour in the wine and season, then cook until the wine has evaporated – if it looks a little dry, add a splash of water.

Score the cuttlefish in diamonds.

Put the remaining 30ml of olive oil into another pan and put on a medium-high heat. When hot, add the cuttlefish – it will take around a minute and a half to caramelize each side (it will curl up). Season well and put on top of the samfaina, then sprinkle over the parsley and finish with a little more olive oil.