Cuttlefish ragù with tortiglioni and salsa verde
by
Paul Welburn puts a seafood-inspired twist on a classic dish in his cuttlefish ragù recipe, paired with chunky tortiglioni pasta to complement the beautiful sauce. This dish celebrates the underrated cuttlefish in all its glory, topping the dish with the crispy battered tentacles and serving with a vibrant green salsa verde. If you can't get hold of cuttlefish, you can substitute with squid.
Ingredients
Cuttlefish ragù
- 1.5kg cuttlefish, bodies cleaned and diced to 5mm or minced (keep tentacles aside for deep-frying)
- 3 carrots , finely diced
- 3 celery sticks , finely diced
- 1 onion , finely diced
- 1 garlic clove , finely diced
- 1l passata
- 500ml of fish stock, (or water)
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 50ml of olive oil
- salt
- black pepper , freshly ground
- 15g of flat-leaf parsley , chopped
Salsa verde
- 15g of mint , leaves picked
- 15g of basil , leaves picked
- 15g of parsley , leaves picked
- 30g of capers
- 30g of cornichons
- 2 anchovy fillets
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tsp English mustard
- 2 tbsp of white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp of lemon juice
- olive oil
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Tempura batter
- 200g of plain flour
- 100g of cornflour
- 45g of baking powder
- 350ml of sparkling water
To serve
- 800g of tortiglioni pasta
- Parmesan
- salt
Method
1
To begin, make the cuttlefish ragù. Add half the oil to a large pan and sear the diced cuttlefish, allowing it to lightly colour. Remove and drain on kitchen paper
- 1.5kg cuttlefish, cleaned and diced to 5mm or minced (keep tentacles aside)
- 25ml of olive oil
2
Add the remaining oil to the same pan and sweat the carrot, celery, onion and garlic on a medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until soft
- 3 carrots , finely diced
- 3 celery sticks , finely diced
- 1 garlic clove , finely diced
- 1 onion , finely diced
- 25ml of olive oil
3
Add the cuttlefish back to the pan, stir well then add the passata and the fish stock or water
- 1l passata
- 500ml of fish stock, (or water)
4
Season and add the thyme, wrapped in string to easily remove later
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
- black pepper , freshly ground
- salt
5
Cook over a low heat for 1 hour or until the cuttlefish is tender and the sauce has reduced to a thick ragù consistency. Season again if needed
7
Place the rest of the ingredients apart from the herbs and oil into a blender and blitz to a course paste
- 2 tbsp of lemon juice
- 30g of capers
- 30g of cornichons
- 2 anchovy fillets
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tsp English mustard
- 2 tbsp of white wine vinegar
8
Stir through the herbs and loosen with the oil to your desired consistency. Season to taste
- freshly ground black pepper
- olive oil
- salt
9
10 minutes before the ragù is ready, cook the tortiglioni pasta in salted boiling water until cooked al dente according to packet instructions. Drain, reserving some of the cooking water
- salt
- 800g of tortiglioni pasta
10
Preheat a deep-fryer to 180°C
11
To make the tempura batter for the tentacles, whisk all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, gradually pouring in the sparkling water until you have the consistency of single cream
- 350ml of sparkling water
- 200g of plain flour
- 100g of cornflour
- 45g of baking powder
12
Dunk the cuttlefish tentacles in the batter and deep-fry for around 3 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt
13
To serve, coat the cooked tortiglioni pasta in the cuttlefish ragù, stir in the freshly chopped parsley and add a splash of the reserved pasta cooking water to loosen if needed
- 15g of flat-leaf parsley , chopped
14
Garnish with the crispy tentacles, salsa verde and freshly grated Parmesan
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Cuttlefish ragù with tortiglioni and salsa verde
