Chopped squid and bacon salad

Tam West

I recently ate a great version of this salad using octopus in Spain (you can buy vac-packed additive-free cooked octopus in the supermarket there, I wish we could here!) There is a bit of slicing and dicing needed for this but there is nothing tricky or difficult about the recipe.

Ingredients

250 g	Cherry tomatoes, halved
1	Small red onion, thinly sliced
½	Cucumbers, peeled and diced 2cm
1	Red chilli, thinly sliced
1 handful	Coriander leaves
2 Tbsp	Capers
1	Green capsicum, cored, deseeded and diced 2cm
3 Tbsp	White wine vinegar
4 Tbsp	Extra virgin olive oil
500 g	Squid tubes, about 2 tubes, ends trimmed, cut down one side and opened out flat, halve each piece of squid (Main)
250 g	Bacon, rind cut off, bacon diced 2cm (Main)
1	Lemon, in wedges, for serving
6 servings	Steamed rice

Directions

1. Put the tomatoes, onion, cucumber, chilli, coriander, capers, capsicum, vinegar and 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large bowl. Mix well, taste and season. This is the salad.
2. Heat a frying pan or ridged grill until very hot (no oil). Add the squid pieces side-by-side and quickly let them brown well on each side. Remove and dice 2 cm. Add to the salad. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan over moderate heat and fry the bacon until crisp.
3. Add the bacon and any oil to the salad. Mix well and serve with steamed rice and lemon wedges for squeezing.

More simple summer dinners from Ray McVinnie

• Honey soy baked salmon, noodles and broccoli
• Yoghurt chicken pitas