Warm Calamari Salad with Chilli Jam

Warm Calamari Salad with Chilli Jam

Serves 4

This is such an easy dish once you have made the chilli jam. The chilli jam is a great thing to have in your fridge it will last up to a month and can turn chicken, fish , prawns or calamari into an exciting meal without to much effort. I admit that making the jam requires a bit of time, but it is really worth the effort.

Ingredients

400g calamari cleaned
2tsp fish sauce
juice 1/2 lime
6 spring onions cut on the diagonal into 2cm lengths
1/2 cup coriander leaves
2 handfuls baby spinach leaves

Chilli Jam


Chilli Jam

9 large red chillis deseeded
12 dried chillis
1 red onion
3 cloves garlic
30g shrimp paste
4cm piece ginger
stems and roots from small bunch coriander
3 stalks lemon grass
100ml vegetable oil
3 tbs brown sugar
1tbs fish sauce

Method

To make the jam place the dried chillis in a bowl and cover with hot water, rehydrate for 30 mins.
Place all the ingredients for the jam, except for the oil,sugar and fish sauce in a food processor and blend until you have a smooth paste.
Heat a heavy based fry pan add the oil,  then add the chill paste.
Cook it slowly for 20 mins, be careful that it does not burn.
After 20 mins add the sugar and the fish sauce and cook for a further 20 mins, stir frequently.
Allow to cool.
Store in a jam jar in the fridge.

To prepare the calamari, cut the bodies lengthwise, open out , using a sharp knife score at a 45-degree angle, then turn the calamari around and repeat at right angle to the first cuts ( do not cut all the way through).
Cut the calamari into large pieces.
Heat a pan until very hot add 2tbs of oil, then add the calamari, once the calamari has started to curl add 2tbs of chilli jam,the spring onions,lime juice and fish sauce, cook for 2 minutes.
Place the spinach on a serving plate top with calamari and coriander leaves.

If you don't like it to spicy add 1tbs of jam to the calamari instead of 2.