I’m at the pescheria on Palanca, buying fish for the weekend. Caroline’s new favourite dish is nuggets of monkfish with boiled potatoes, black olives, cherry tomatoes and the best olive oil you can lay your hands on. So, obviously, I need a couple of coda di rospo for Sunday. I wonder what else to buy. I was in a swordfish kind of mood, but they haven’t got any. Neither are there any moscardini, so it’s not going to be an octopus weekend either.

But what they have are some modestly-sized squid and some little gamberi rosa. And I think, you know, it’s been some time since I stuffed a squid. So that’s what I go home with…

Squid stuffed with prawns (for two)

Ingredients

4 medium sized squid

200g small prawns (unshelled weight, and you need the smaller, more delicate ones here)

Tbsp capers

Some basil. Not a lot.

Salt, to taste

Method

1. You could clean your squid yourself. But, to be honest, your fishmonger will do it quicker and better than you ever will, so let them do that.
2. It was Paul McCartney’s 80th birthday so I cooked this to Revolver / Band on the Run. I think it worked.
3. Caroline had an “Etna” Spritz. I had a G&T.
4. Take the wings/tentacles/prawns and fry them until just about cooked. Add a few capers – not too many, there’s a delicate flavour to the prawns and we don’t want to overwhelm them. A few basil leaves might be nice as well. Then chop the whole mixture up, but not too finely. We want a bit of texture here!
5. Give the squid a good old rinse, just to be sure there’s no icky bits remaining in the interior.
6. Take a tablespoon, and spoon the squid/prawn mixture into the interior. Don’t overfill them. You’ll think you haven’t got enough but, trust me, you have. They will also look a bit pale and wheezy and floppy, but take courage!
7. You should now have four squid “sausages”. Gently fry them until golden. Don’t rush it, take all the time you need here. You want to get a nice golden, caramelised crust on the outside. As you cook them, the squid will contract giving you a lovely stuffed seafood sausage that will look ever so cheffy.
8. I served this with roasted tomatoes and garlic, and some chilled red wine. It’s summer after all.
9. Happy eating everyone!