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Lentil Stew with Crispy Baby Squid

4 people
Easy

Prep time
20 mins

Cook time
30 mins

Total time
50 mins

Javier De La Hormaza

Recipe provided by

Javier De La Hormaza

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Ingredients

500gr of dried puy style lentils, covered in water for 24hrs
1.5ltr Fresh Water
200gr Fresh baby squid
1 large leek, washed and chopped into 2 inch pieces
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped into slices
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 large garlic head, spilt in two and lightly fried in oil
1 Bay leaf, 3 sprigs of thyme, 5 sprigs of parsley
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Salt
For the tempura batter:
1 medium egg
225ml ice cold water
100gr plain flour plus extra for dusting
Pinch of curry powder
Oil to fry

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Introduction

I like this dish because of the blend of two opposing characters. The earthy flavour of the lentils cooked slowly through a traditional Basque recipe and the crispy baby squid using a Japanese tempura batter to denote the sweetness of the squid and the texture of the tempura.

Method

To clean the squid, remove the head from the body by pulling from the tentacles. Under a running tap, clean the inside of the body well, remove any sinew from the outside with a small knife and turn inside out, cut into bite size pieces. Cut the head of the squid just above the tentacles and keep for later.
Place in a large pan the soaked lentils, half of the squid, the vegetables, herbs, oil and cover with the water. Place on a moderate heat to start and simmer for around 20 minutes preventing the liquid from boiling as the lentils will break open. Shake the pot now and again to thicken the liquid.
Once the lentils are tender, remove the vegetables and discard the garlic and herbs. Season the lentils with salt and place the vegetables into a food processor or blender, blend and strain them over the lentils, they will give flavour and help to thicken the sauce. Cover with a lid and allow to rest for 5 minutes while you prepare the tempura.
Pre-heat the oil in a fryer to 180°C or alternatively heat the oil in a pan. You can test the heat with either a thermometer or by dropping in a cube of bread, it should take 30 seconds to brown.
Prepare the tempura batter by beating the egg in a bowl, add the ice water making sure it is very cold and finally the sifted flour and curry powder. Beat lightly, ideally with a chopstick or fork creating a lumpy mixture with pockets of flour.
Roll the squid in some flour, dip into the batter coating the pieces well and then into the hot oil, one piece at a time making sure you turn each piece around so it fries evenly until lightly golden brown. Drain onto kitchen paper and season with sea salt.
To finish the dish, serve a good spoonful of the lentils into a soup bowl, place a few tempura pieces and drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil.