Salad of Cuttlefish, Tomato & Sweet Sour Onions
Serves 4
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup capers in brine, rinsed and dried
500g Cuttlefish, cleaned
2 large ripe tomatoes, cored and roughly diced
½ cup basil leaves, torn
Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 slices toasted ciabatta or other wood-fired bread
Sweet Sour Onions
150ml red wine vinegar
1½ teaspoons salt flakes
1½ teaspoons castor sugar
2 small red onions, halved and sliced finely
Make the Sweet Sour Onions: mix the vinegar, salt and sugar in a small bowl, add the onions and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small, heavy-based frying pan over a high heat. Add the capers and gently shake the pan until they have opened and begun to crisp, remove and drain to paper towel.
Score the inside of the Cuttlefish hood with angled cuts, turn and repeat so that the cuts form a crosshatched pattern.
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add Cuttlefish in batches and cook for 1-2 minutes, until it just turns opaque. Slice into 1cm pieces and place in a large bowl.
Add tomatoes, basil, capers, salt, pepper and remaining olive oil to the bowl. Drain the onions well, discarding the marinade, add to the salad and toss gently to combine. Arrange on plates or a large platter and serve with ciabatta.
Notes: This dish can be prepared up to 2 hours in advance, but is best brought back to room temperature before serving.
Alternative Species: Baby Octopus (omit scoring, cut into quarters), Prawns, Squids, Calamari.
For information on Cuttlefish, click here >
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