Daube of Squid

When I saw the picture of this in Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Heaven, I thought - 'I definitely gotta do this'. Well, mine did not exactly look like the picture in the book :lol: but it was good nonetheless - in an unsophisticated way. As far as I know, the 'daube' is a rustic Provencale stew made of very slowly braised beef with wine, vegetables and spices. Ramsay's use of squids plainly piqued my interest besides the fact that I love squids (also called 'choko' in my hometown).

I saw a bag of squid tentacles at our local Chinese grocery (I prefer them from the body) and proceeded to make this dish. As I was cooking, I saw the close similarity with our mechado. Except for the wine, it had almost the same ingredients and preparations.


Daube of Squid

1 1/2 kg  squids - cleaned and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 red onion - chopped
500 g  plum tomatoes - chopped
500 g  small new potatoes - washed and halved
2 small lemons - sliced
3/4 cup white wine
1 tsp minced garlic
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
sea salt and freshly milled black pepper

1. Put the squid in a bowl with the wine, lemon slices (squeeze a little), bay leaves, parsley, garlic, and season well with salt and pepper. Leave to marinate for 2 hours.
2. In a pot, saute the onion in hot olive oil until soft. Drain the squid (reserve the marinade) and add to the onion. Cook for about 2 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Discard the lemons and add the marinade to the squid. Cover the pot and simmer gently for 2 hours.
5. Add in the potatoes and cook for a further 15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked.