Grilled squid with mushrooms and chicken fat
Earthy mushrooms and rich chicken fat are delicious with fresh grilled squid.
Ingredients
For the mushroom broth
- 1kg/2lb 4oz chestnut mushrooms, very thinly sliced on a mandolin
- 3 tsp salt
- 500ml/18fl oz good quality brown chicken stock
For the grilled squid with mushrooms and chicken fat
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú chicken fat
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 4 small red onions, whole, skin-on
- 4 small squid, cleaned and prepared, bodies left whole
- 400g/14oz maitake or chestnut mushrooms, cut into quarters
- apple marigold petals and wild garlic flowers, to serve
- 4 kumquats, thinly sliced
- ½ lemon, juice only
Method
To make the mushroom broth, mix the sliced mushrooms with the salt in a bowl and leave for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, pour the mushrooms and any liquid into a lidded saucepan and simmer gently with the lid on for 1 hour. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve, squeezing the mushrooms to extract the juices. Line a colander with muslin and pour the liquid through the colander set over a clean saucepan. Add the chicken stock to the pan and keep warm.
To make the chicken fat, place the chicken fat and garlic in a small saucepan over a medium heat to 150C. Cook gently at this temperature for 10 minutes, then strain the fat into a bowl, discarding the garlic. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 wrap each onion in kitchen foil and roast for 25 minutes or until soft. Allow to cool, then carefully unwrap, peel away the skin and flake the onion layers into petals. Set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the chicken fat in a sauté pan and add the mushrooms. Cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside in a warm bowl.
Preheat the grill to high. Brush each squid with chicken fat and place under the grill whole for 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Remove the tentacles and cut each squid into thin strips. Set aside and keep warm.
To serve, divide the squid and cooked mushrooms between four bowls. Sprinkle over the red onion petals, pour over the hot broth an finish with more chicken fat, the flowers, kumquats and a squeeze of lemon juice.