Whenever we spend a few days in the south of France, this dish is invariably on the menu. Everyone is gathered round the barbecue to admire the beautiful colours and smells, it’s simply delicious. But why not create it whatever the weather? An incredibly easy recipe, bursting with flavours that you can simply recreate at home with a griddle.

Whole grilled squid, red rice and fresh herbs

Ingredients:

Whole Grilled Squid

  • 4 (small to medium size) clean whole squid
  • 300g red rice
  • 750g water
  • 20g mixed herbs (tarragon, dill, coriander, parsley)
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil

To prepare the marinade:

  • 2 de-seeded red chillies
  • 1 lemon (zest and juice)
  • ½ stick of lemongrass
  • 1 tbsp. soya sauce
  • handful of sliced mint leaves
  • 4 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

  1. Roughly chop the red chillies and lemongrass before putting into a large mixing bowl together with the juice of a lemon, soya sauce, olive oil and crushed garlic.
  2. Wipe your squid down with a dry cloth or piece of paper to remove any remaining impurities. Then place into the mixing bowl and rub the marinade all over. Sprinkle the mint leaves on top of the squids with a couple of pinches of pepper.
  3. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
  4. In the meantime, rinse the red rice under cold water before putting in a medium sized saucepan filled with water and a pinch of salt. Once boiling, reduce the heat and leave the rice to simmer; cover with a lid and cook for 40 to 45 minutes.
  5. Once cooked, strain off the rice and drizzle some olive oil on top.
  6. Remove the squids from the marinade without discarding any excess oil or garnish inside. This will season and avoid the seafood sticking to the pan. Get your griddle as hot as possible to get those special chard marks on the squid without overcooking them. They will only need a couple of minutes on each side to be beautifully tender.
  7. Rinse your freshly plucked herbs under cold water and gently dry them off on a piece of paper. These little leaves add freshness and an extra crunch to the dish.

This colourful dish needs a wine just as perky to accompany it. A particularly crisp and fruity rosé would do wonders for this Mediterranean recipe. I suggest the 2013 Cuvée Clarendon Domaine Gavoty from Aix-en-Provence. This young wine has an intense peppery nose and a real array of red fruit flavour.

On a slightly more classic note, I think the 2014 Sancerre from Andre Dezat would also be an excellent choice with this dish. This is an impeccably balanced white wine from the Loire region lively enough to challenge the squid.

At last, I recommend a personal favourite of mine from further afield. A delicious white wine from New Zealand; with plenty of hints of smokiness, just perfect for this charred squid. The Cloudy Bay, Te Koko 2010 is probably the best Sauvignon Blanc to complement this special dish.

Wines to drink with whole grilled squid, red rice and fresh herbs by Michel Roux Jr.

Cuvee Clarendon, Domaine Gavoty, Aix en Provence 2014: Herbacious and fruity, this mouthwatering rose from the 200 year old Gavoty vineyard in Provence, is rich with sweet and spicy notes of melon and fig.

RRP: £10.95 from Jeroboams

Sancerre Blanc, Andre Dezat 2014: Wonderfully citrusy with an almost sherbert aroma, this Sancerre is unctuous with stone fruit flavours. The lime notes are sharp enough to blend beautifully with the rustic charred flavours of the grilled squid.

RRP: £14.60 from Tanners

Te Koko Sauvignon Blanc, Cloudy Bay 2012: With crisp falvours of lemon and grapefruit, the Te Koko is subtly sweet with notes of nectarine and honeysuckle. There is a herbacious quality to ths wine which is wat makes it so wonderfully complex on the nose. The perfect partner to tender, smoky squid with that little bite of chilli.

RRP: £37.50 from Roberson

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Michel Roux Jr
Michel Roux Jr
Columnist
Michel Roux Jr was born in 1960 in Pembury, Kent, where his father Albert Roux worked as a private chef for the Cazalet family. His earliest food memories are the smells of the Fairlawne kitchen – pastry, sugar caramelizing and stews – where he played under the table while his father and mother Monique prepared the meals. After deciding to follow in his father’s footsteps, he left school at 16 for the first of several challenging apprenticeships at Maître Patissier, Hellegouarche in Paris from 1976 to 1979. He was then Commis de Cuisine at Alain Chapel’s signature restaurant at Mionay near Lyon, Michel’s biggest influence. His military service was spent in the kitchens at the Elysée Palace at the time of Presidents Giscard d’Estaing and François Mitterrand. He also spent time at Boucherie Lamartine and Charcuterie Mothu in Paris, and the Gavers Restaurant in London. After a stint at the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong he returned to London and worked at La Tante Claire before joining the family business. He took over running Le Gavroche in 1991, gradually changing the style of cooking to his own – classic French with a lighter, modern twist. Michel opened Roux at Parliament Square in May 2010 with Restaurant Associates, part of the Compass Group UK and Ireland. And in November 2010, he opened Roux at The Landau at London’s prestigious luxury hotel, The Langham. Michel was a judge and presenter on the BBC’s popular prime time show, MasterChef: The Professionals, and presented all series of ‘Great British Food Revival.’  Michel fronted BBC2’s ‘Food and Drink,’ in 2014 and presented a documentary on Escoffier, whose revolutionary approach to fine cuisine has inspired Michel and many others. In the same year, Michel went on a journey to create the perfect chocolate for the Le Gavroche Kitchen.  Filmed by the BBC, in Paris he discovered chocolatiers, Cacao Barry and their Or Noir Lab. In 2013, Michel launched his most recent cookbook, ‘The French Kitchen’.  Focusing on traditional French home cooking, this is the fifth solo cookery book from Michel. He is involved with the Roux Experience courses at the ‘Cactus Kitchens’ cookery school, with the Executive producer of Saturday Kitchen, Amanda Ross. Cactus Kitchens offers people the opportunity to learn to cook within small intimate groups from some of the UK’s finest chefs, on site above the Saturday Kitchen studios. Michel has fronted a brand new four-part Channel 4 series, ‘The Diner’, exploring the hurdles faced by people with disabilities and mental health issues when finding employment. Michel also recently presented a new program on his first ever project with the Disney Channel.  ‘First Class Chefs’ which launched in June 2015, is a show where kids aged 9-11 compete to showcase their restaurant skills.