Provolone and ricotta-stuffed squid with yellow pepper sauce

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Ernesto Iaccarino marinates squid in a sweet, smoky paprika spice rub before stuffing the sought-after cephalopod with a velvety smooth cheese filling of ricotta and 16-month-aged Provolone. You can ask your fishmonger to clean the squid for you, or watch our video for all you need to know about cleaning squid yourself.

First published in 2016

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Squid

Yellow pepper sauce

  • 300g of yellow pepper, roughly chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped
  • 200g of vegetable stock
  • 20g of extra virgin olive oil
  • salt

Potatoes, chillies and tomatoes

  • 20g of potatoes, peeled and cut into 0.5cm cubes
  • 20g of green chillies, chopped into 1cm slices
  • 20g of sun-dried tomatoes, diced
  • olive oil
  • salt

Chicken stock jelly

  • 150g of chicken stock
  • 1g of agar agar

Equipment

  • Smoking gun
  • Piping bag and nozzle
  • Blender

Method

1
To prepare the squid, first wash them thoroughly and pull the tentacles away from the body. You can use the tentacles for other dishes, so set them aside in the fridge or freezer
2
Next, remove the innards and quill from the body before peeling away the external purple membrane. Slice the fins from the sides of the body
3
Mix the salt, sugar and paprika together and use to thoroughly coat the squid. Cover and leave to marinate for 10 minutes
  • 50g of salt
  • 12g of sweet smoked paprika
  • 25g of sugar
4
For the yellow pepper sauce, sauté the garlic in a pan over a medium heat. Add the yellow pepper, season with salt and simmer with the lid on for a few minutes until softened
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped
  • 20g of extra virgin olive oil
  • 300g of yellow pepper, roughly chopped
  • salt
5
Pour in the vegetable stock and cook for another 5 minutes. Blitz the contents of the pan, pass through a fine sieve and keep warm until required
  • 200g of vegetable stock
6
Rinse the squid to remove the marinade and pat dry with kitchen towel. Place the squid in a bowl covered with cling film and use a smoking gun to smoke the squid for 5 minutes (or according to the manufacturers instructions)
7
Meanwhile, pan-fry the potatoes in a little olive oil until soft and golden brown. Season with salt and leave to cool
  • 20g of potatoes, peeled and cut into 0.5cm cubes
  • olive oil
  • salt
8
To make the chicken stock jelly, whisk the agar agar into the chicken stock and bring to the boil
  • 150g of chicken stock
  • 1g of agar agar
9
Remove the pan from the heat and arrange the cooled potatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and green chilli on the serving plates. Pour over the chicken jelly and leave to cool and set
  • 20g of green chillies, chopped into 1cm slices
  • 20g of sun-dried tomatoes, diced
10
Mix together the ricotta and Provolone cheese, transfer to a piping bag and pipe the filling into the smoked squid
11
Quickly fry the stuffed squid with a little extra virgin olive oil for 2–3 minutes, arrange on top of the set jelly and pour over the yellow pepper sauce. Serve immediately
  • extra virgin olive oil
First published in 2016

Taking over from his father meant there was a lot of pressure on Ernesto Iaccarino's shoulders when he became a head chef. Fortunately, his natural talent in the kitchen meant he easily retained the family's two Michelin stars.

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