There is a huge marjoram bush growing in our garden and it’s a herb we definitely don’t use enough of. Use tender baby squid for this and have it all prepped in advance. This is a super simple starter to throw onto the barbecue as people arrive.
Our fishmonger carries good frozen squid for when there is none available fresh and it works just as well.
Wine Suggestion: a crisp, dry and minerally white with a citrussy lemon character, like Assyrtiko from Greece, would have been our first choice, but as we didn’t have one in the fridge we pulled out a bottle of Zero de Bouvet-Ladubay, a sparkling Saumur made from Chenin Blanc and, like its name suggests, completely dry with zero residual sugar. It worked just as well.
Baby squid with marjoram – serves 4
- 600g baby squid
- 2 lemons
- 3 tbsp marjoram leaves, roughly chopped
- 2 dried chillies, crumbled (or use chilli flakes)
- extra virgin olive oil
To prepare the squid you need to pull away the head and tentacles and any pulpy stuff inside the sac. Cut out the hard beak. Wash the tentacles and sac. The recipe suggests leaving the skin and fins on but we usually remove them. Pat dry with paper towels.
Squeeze the juice from 1 of the lemons and cut the other one into quarters.
Season the squid generously inside and out and put 1 tsp of the marjoram into each sac.
Mix the crumbled chilli with 1 tsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp olive oil and the rest of the marjoram.
Cook the squid bodies and tentacles on a hot barbecue and squeeze over a little lemon juice. Turn almost straight away – when the white flesh has charred lightly – and char on the other side. Serve with the sauce and lemon.
(Original recipe from Italian Two Easy by Rose Gray & Ruth Roges, Clarkson Potter, 2006.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 
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