Raw squid with lemon, apple, chervil & nasturtium leaves

Winter

I first made this dish during an unusually intense, beer-fuelled late-night cook-off in a Copenhagen kitchen. It went down really well with the judges, and, I think, helped to clinch my victory. I will assume that not many people reading this recipe will have tried raw squid, but let me assure you the flavour and texture are absolutely wonderful. It has a subtle creaminess and a tenderness you don’t get when you cook it. Don’t be nervous of it either – it’s no different to eating sashimi; just use the freshest squid you can lay your hands on and have a go. I serve it with sweet apple and peppery nasturtiums, a little lemon and my best extra-virgin olive oil. Altogether an excellent combination.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 dessert apples
1 large handful of nasturtium leaves, plus extra to serve
zest of ¼ lemon and juice of 1 whole, plus extra juice for serving
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving
apple juice or water, for loosening the purée (optional)
1 very fresh squid body (150–200g/5½–7oz), cleaned
1 small bunch of chervil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Peel one of the apples, then quarter and core it. Place it in a blender along with the nasturtium leaves, the lemon zest, half the lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and a little salt and pepper. Blitz the ingredients until they form a smooth purée. (You can do this using a stick blender, if you prefer.) You may have to add a dash of apple juice or water to help it on its way.

Cut down one side of the squid’s tubular body and open it out. Use your sharpest knife to scrape any thin membrane from the surface of the flesh. You want the squid to be beautifully smooth before you slice it. Starting at the widest end, slice long, super-thin lengths of squid from the body. They should look like short lengths of delicate, almost translucent tagliatelle pasta.

Place the squid slices in a bowl, allowing 30–40g (1–1½oz) squid per person. Drizzle over the remaining olive oil and lemon juice and season lightly with salt and pepper. Turn together well.

Using your sharpest knife again, cut very thin rounds from top to bottom of the remaining apple – you’ll need a couple of slices for each person. Arrange these in the base of each bowl. Put equal amounts of squid on top, then dot over the nasturtium and apple purée, and finish with a few sprigs of chervil and a few nasturtium leaves. Finally give everything a final spritz of lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Serve straight away.

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