Tom the Chef

My brother, Tom, has somewhat of a reputation amongst his friends as an aspiring Jamie Oliver. So in anticipation of long languid summer lunches, I asked Tom to create the ideal partner to a perfectly chilled bottle of Withington Chardonnay 2006.

Bless him, he suggested mom’s Mediterranean Calamari Salad:
- 3 kg frozen mixed calamari (heads and tubes) that has been gutted and cleaned (equates to 1 kg cooked)
- 50 ml lemon juice
- 250 ml olive oil
- couple of cloves of crushed garlic
- 2 tsp mustard
- pinch cayenne pepper
- a few twists of salt and pepper
- handful fresh flat-leaf parsley and mint
- a couple of handfuls of cherry tomatoes and olives

Separate the calamari into heads and tubes, and cut the tubes into bite-size pieces. Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add the calamari heads, bring back to the boil, and cook for 10 minutes. Do the same for the tubes, but only cook for 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, take the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, mustard, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, whisk it together and let it stand. Once all the calamari has been cooked, put it into a bowl and combine it with the vinaigrette.

Cover, and let it marinade in the fridge overnight.

Just before serving, add a handful of chopped, fresh flat-leaf parsley and mint. Add in some cherry tomatoes and olives. Mix together to get the juices to coat all the calamari.

Serve with some warm, crusty bread to mop up the juices.