Can you tell yet that I love making salads as main meals? I know of a few keen cooks who find salad creation rather boring, as far as cooking goes. I believe the possibilities are endless with salads. At some point on this blog I will get to the classics, but I’ve been very much in Spanish flavour mode for a little while, hence the numerous recipes featuring chorizo and roast capsicum.

My personal rules for a successful salad are: choose fresh, vibrantly-coloured ingredients; add in a wickedly good protein, such as a bitey cheese, seafood, cured meat or chorizo; pull it all together with a moreish dressing that is well-balanced in its flavours.

This salad is no exception to my salad rules. With tender, marinated squid, pimiento-laden chorizo and strips of roast capsicum, this sweet and salty number very quickly takes me back to warm summer’s nights on the southern coast of Spain. Enjoy with an equally Spanish and muy delicious glass of Tempranillo or tinto de verano!

Ingredients:

3 large squid tubes

juice of 1 lemon

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

sea salt and ground black pepper

1 packet (approx. 120 g) rocket salad mix

1 red capsicum

1-2 chorizo sausages

1 tin chickpeas

Dressing

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons sherry (Jerez) vinegar

1 teaspoon caster sugar

sea salt and ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 180°C. Rinse the squid tubes, then pat them dry and place on a chopping board. Cut the squid into rough rectangular pieces, about 10 cm x 5 cm. Be sure to remove any stringy pieces, then score the squid on one side and place in a large bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of the parsley and a generous amount of seasoning, then stir well to thoroughly coat. Cover with cling wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Place the capsicum in a baking tray and drizzle with oil, then bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until blackened. Remove and allow to cool.

Make the dressing by combining all ingredients and whisking these together or shaking well in a jar. Depending on the amount of salad you wish to make, go with my general ‘3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar’ rule (I know, lots of rules today!).

Cut the chorizo into 1 cm thick slices and pan-fry over a high heat in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes or until cooked.

Using a griddle pan, fry the squid on a high heat for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden. I initially place the squid unscored side down– it curls up very quickly in a most entertaining way! Set aside once cooked.

Wash and thoroughly dry the rocket, then place in a large salad bowl. Remove the skin from the cooled capsicum (this should fall off quite easily) and roughly cut it into strips. Arrange these over the rocket then add the chorizo and squid pieces. Rinse the chickpeas and dry thoroughly, then scatter these over the salad. Add the dressing and top with the remaining parsley, then enjoy this mucho excitamente ensalata!