Raymond Blanc's Squid Stew

Ok so I have a total chef crush/obsession with Raymond Blanc. From his unreal food to the way he says 'OOOHLALA' and 'Character' in his perfect and charming french accent, I go week at the knees. I just think he is great and would die to meet him. I used to eat at Brasserie Blanc in Leeds the whole time when I was at Uni there and I would always leave dying to go back.

However now I'm back in London town, cooking his recipes will suffice. So after watching his show 'How to Cook Well-Slow Cooking' on BBC Iplayer I HAD TO make his slow cooked Squid Stew, because 1. I love Squid. 2.I love chorizo and 3. Its fun to try new things!

Picking up some super fresh Squid from Selfridges food hall, snapping up the other ingredients and putting on my chefs hat I began. 
The main rule with squid is to remember and I'm quoting Raymond here 'Squid should only be cooked for 1 hour or 1 minute, no longer and no less, otherwise it is horrible'.
So people take note....

After chopping up your onions, add them to the pan and soften until opaque and slightly golden. Next add in your tomatoes. I like to use vine tomatoes as I think they are bursting with flavour, some of mine were oven roasted before. I had them left over from breakfast but coincidentally adding roasted tomatoes to a sauce like this adds a little sweetness. 

Bay leaves and basil are essential with tomatoes and tomato sauces. Now I was a slight cheat and my tomato puree had garlic in it but in general one should use fresh garlic always. (I gave myself a slap on the wrist hee)!!

Seasoning with salt and pepper to taste and then throwing in my chopped up chorizo, it was beginning to come together.

After a good mix and slicing up my squid I added it to the tomato sauce. Now all there is to do is wait an hr and wallah it will be done. Well ok with the occasional stir thrown in for good measure!

Although Raymond adds in potatoes, I was in the mood for my squid ink pasta, which I had picked up from Del' Aziz. I Just though the black pasta would contrast beautifully against the bright rich red sauce. 

For the final touches I flash fried the tentacles and a few rings for exactly 1 minutes just as he said. And for a little greenery and extra crunch I added a few shavings of raw courgette. 

OohLALA doesn't it look good, it tasted fantastic. I hope Raymond would be proud of me ;-).

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