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Garlic Fried King Prawns, Hot Spanish Squid & Balsamic Onion Tortilla

For 2

Sometimes a girl’s got to give. A few years ago I was forced to go to extreme lengths to steal an evening with my then boyfriend. It was near impossible to find time when he wasn’t DJ-ing, going to a gig, or sorting out his sock drawer. So I lovingly took this whole meal on the P4 bus, with each individual bit prepared in little pots so that I could create it in situ. That’s love, or is it dementia?

Saucy and juicy, the seafood flavours are wonderful mopped up with the yolky yellow tortilla. I like sucking the sweet garlicky coating off the prawns, then shelling them and devouring the tender meaty chunks within. The chilli will have your mouth wonderfully tingling too. And the squid has good smoky paprika as the resounding Moorish ingredient. This is something I only discovered when I opened my little shop in Brixton market. There are many varieties of this magic dust, and it usually comes in beautiful little tins. I use a hot Santo Domingo, which is imported by Brindisa and will bring a smouldering heat to almost any meal. These smells remind me of Marrakesh and Barcelona all in one, full of mystery and hot reds.

The way you manage this meal is up to you: the prawns could be served as a starter or all together with the squid and tortilla. And if you don’t want to do both the squid and the prawn dishes, double up the quantities of one and serve it with a simple green salad. Though if you are using this for wooing, you might just check that your lover doesn’t have an aversion to seafood. It is a bit like Marmite: you either love it, or you hate it.

Balsamic Onion Tortilla

1 medium free-range egg

3 medium free-range egg yolks

500g new potatoes

lots of olive oil or butter

100g balsamic onions (or pancetta)

Maldon sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

The essence of a tortilla is patience. First, whisk up the egg and yolks in a mixing jug and set this aside. With the fine flat blade of a mandolin, finely slice the potatoes. Heat lots of olive oil or butter on a low heat in a good non-stick frying pan. This is so that the potatoes (with their high starch content) don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the potatoes and attentively turn them, while also allowing them to become golden in parts. When they are beginning to look transparent, after about 20 minutes, use a flat-ended wooden spoon to slightly mash them up. In doing so, the potato pieces will be able to lie side by side to make a compact cake like a jigsaw puzzle.

Chop the balsamic onions (or pancetta) and scatter over the potatoes. Season with lots of pepper and salt, and then pour in the egg mix. This should be just enough to bind the tortilla, which is much lighter on the egg front than an omelette. Continue to cook on a very low heat until it begins to come away from the edge of the pan. Using a flat plate, turn out the tortilla so that it can then be returned to the pan to brown the top side. This will take 5 minutes, much less time than the first side. When you are happy with the golden colour, remove from the pan, and slice like a cake.

Hot Spanish Squid

1 red pepper

4 garlic cloves

2 chillies

lots of olive oil

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

3 tubes of squid

1 teaspoon golden caster sugar

juice of 1 lemon

¹/₂ bunch of fresh parsley

For the squid dish, deseed the pepper and cut into hunks. Whiz them up with the peeled garlic and the chillies to make a purée, using a hand-held blender or Magimix. Warm some olive oil in a pan and fry the paprika, cumin and caraway seeds. This is the best way to release the aromas of spices. After a few minutes’ frying, add the pepper purée. Cook at a very low heat for about half an hour, or until the juices are a little reduced. If it begins to dry out, add a tablespoon of water at a time to loosen and continue breaking down the flavours. During this time, rinse the squid under a cold running tap and chop into rings 1cm wide (you may need to remove the cartilage, which lies inside the white squid sac. See Feasting Fiestas, page 121). Add this to the pan at the last minute, along with the sugar, lemon juice and parsley, which should be roughly chopped. It will need a minute or two to combine all the flavours and cook the squid, which will go from milky clear to white, but not rubbery please. You may need to add another teaspoon of sugar to balance the flavours, so taste to check.

Garlic Fried Prawns

6 garlic cloves

1 fresh chilli

a big knob of butter

12 large king prawns

1 glass of white wine or rosé

To cook the prawns, heat the butter in a pan, peel and finely chop the garlic and chilli and throw them into the pan. Allow them to fry long enough to smell but not turn brown; a few minutes. Add the prawns and then the wine, so that they have just enough time to turn from translucent to pinky-white, and the alcohol from the wine has had time to evaporate. You will need to turn over the large prawns so that each side gets well cooked. It will take 3 to 5 minutes. Then take off the heat. Roll up your sleeves, and enjoy the mess.