Squid stuffed with chorizo, braised in black sauce

This stuffed baby squid tubes recipe uses crumbled chorizo and cooks the squid in a tomato and squid ink sauce until tender. You can buy squid ink - it is sold in sachets at specialty stores like Nosh.

This recipe is from Serafin Cafe and Bar's and is one of the 12 finalists of Bite's Estrella Damm Tapas Competition in 2014. Click here to see all of the finalists.

Serafin Cafe and Bar, 225B Dominion Road, Auckland

Ingredients

6 pieces	Baby squid, tubes, cleaned (Main)
200 g	Chorizo sausages, skin removed and crumbled (Main)
300 g	Tomatoes, skinned
1	Red onion, medium, finely chopped
4	Garlic cloves, 2 finely chopped, 2 slivered
1	Green pepper, medium, diced
1 packet	Squid ink
1 to serve	Parsley, plus extra for serving
1 pinch	Cayenne pepper
6 Tbsp	White wine, use to dilute the squid ink
1 Tbsp	Brandy
1	Bay leaf
1 pot	Aioli
1 loaf	Crusty bread

Directions

1. Dilute the chorizo by mixing with the white wine.
2. Using a piping bag, fill the squid with chorizo mixture. Close the head of the squid with a toothpick to ensure the mixture stays inside. Rest in a paper towel.
3. Put the tomatoes, red onion, green pepper, 2 chopped cloves of garlic, the squid ink and a pinch of parsley into a blender. Blend to a puree.
4. Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan. Sliver the remaining garlic. Add the squid and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss the squid from time to time until it turns a nice brown colour. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper. Deglaze with the white wine and brandy for a few minutes.
5. Add the puree and the bayleaf to the pan and simmer for about 15 minutes to reduce the sauce. The squid will now be tender.
6. Serve with toasted bread, garnish with parsley and a drop of aioli.