Chocos con papas

What did I want to cook for tea tonight? Didn't have the foggiest. I grabbed a book from the bookshelf in the hope I could be inspired once I was at the shops. The book I pulled out was Moro The Cookbook. Good thinking!

What I came home with was cuttlefish and yellow capsicums. I had everything else at home happily. The yellow capsicums were a bargain - I got five of them for a dollar.

Cuttlefish are pretty good value too. $8.00 a kilo. I didn't need a kilo's worth, and these lovely little cuttlefish cost me just under $7.00. The trouble with cuttlefish (and squid) is that they look so intelligent - and I understand they are intelligent. So dealing with them, preparing them, is not my favourite thing. I know a lot of people are put off by the mess of these, but the mess doesn't worry me, only those soulful eyes do! Thank goodness they are not especially kind to their food so that I can feel less guilty.

I was pretty free this morning, but time poor this afternoon. Because of this I made the recipe in parts. Organised the first few steps, cleaning and cutting the cuttlefish and the 'sofrito' (I think that's an Italian term, but I don't know the Spanish equivalent) I suppose, in the morning, and then restarted in the evening after the rush had passed. While the squid take a bit of cooking, once they are in, they're pretty much left to their own devices for a good half hour.

Here's what I did with the recipe today.


Cuttlefish with Potatoes

800g small to medium cuttlefish
4 tbsp olive oil*
2 medium red onions, cut into half moons
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 fresh bay leaves
3 yellow capsicums, seeds removed and roughly chopped
5 medium potatoes, peeled, cut in half and sliced into 1cm thick pieces
200ml sherry
200ml water
1 small bunch parsley, roughly chopped
salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Prepare the cuttlefish (over the sink in case the black ink sack breaks) by first pulling the cuttlefish bone (feather shaped and quite hard) through the skin. Pull the head, tentacles and all the bits that are attached out of the hood. Pull off the reddish membrane.

Rinse or wipe clean the hood and cut it into strips about finger width, and cut in one in half. Cut the tentacles away from the eyes and beak. Pop the cuttlefish, covered into the fridge until it's needed.

Heat the oil in a large heavy-based pan. Add the sliced onions and a pinch of salt flakes, and cook, stirring for about 10 minutes, or until the onions have started to turn golden. At this stage the capsicums, garlic slices and bay leaves are added. Cook all this off for a good 10 minutes or more. It was at this point I stopped and turned the pot off. I just covered it and set it aside until the evening. I reheated before continuing...

Add the potatoes, a generous amount of salt, cuttlefish, water and sherry to the pan. Bring to a simmer, give it a bit of a stir about and cook, stirring now and then for about a half an hour, or until the cuttlefish is tender. You may need to add a little hot water if the sauce thickens too much.

Taste, adjust seasoning in need, sprinkle with parsley and serve with some crusty bread.

Serves 4-6

*I often use light olive oil for cooking, but, I feel that this dish called for more flavour. I used some light olive oil and some extra virgin olive oil - my own blend I suppose!

In spite of my hand looking incredibly large in this picture, the intent was to show how small the cuttlefish were - my hands are medium at best.