Squid and Chorizo Salad with Rocket

What’s nice about this meal is that it takes 20 minutes to prepare and less than 5 minutes to cook! Squid is a popular food in Italian and Japanese cuisines and is often known by the Italian word calamari. The body of squid can be stuffed whole, cut into flat pieces or sliced into rings. The arms, tentacles and ink are also edible. Squid is an excellent source of Selenium, Riboflavin, and Vitamin B12. Rocket has a peppery and aromatic taste and mingles beautifully with the ingredients of this salad. Chorizo is a pork sausage and is made by chopping or grinding pork and marinating it in spices. Spanish paprika (sweet or spicy) is the spice which is gives chorizo its characteristic flavor and distinguishes it from other sausages. It can be sliced and eaten alone or with crusty French-style bread or can be fried.

Serves 6
recipe from She magazine

100g can chickpeas, drained
100g can borlotti beans, drained
15 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 red chili, deseeded and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf [arsely
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
8 tablespoons olive oil
400g ready-prepared squid
75g hot chorizo sausage, cut into thin rounds
50g rocket (arugula) leaves

Place the chickpeas and the beans in a large bowl with the tomatoes, red chili, garlic and parsley. Add the lemon juice with 5 tablespoons of the olive oil, seasons with salt and toss the mixture together.

Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add the squid and sear for about 30 seconds, then turn over until it is golden and caramelised. Add chorizo and cook for a further minute. Toss the rocket leaves through the bean salad and transfer to a serving plat. Top with the squid and chorizo and serve immediately.

The Culinary Chase’s Note: The flavors here are amazing and the chorizo adds just enough spice and smokiness to this delicious salad. My family said this was a definite repeater! Enjoy this salad with a glass of chardonnay. Cheers!