Salt and pepper squid with mango chutney

Method

1. For the mango chutney: put the brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Working quickly, add the star anise, black peppercorns, and chilli, then add the torn lime leaves. At this point, the sugar should be starting to caramelise. Add the tamarind and 560ml boiling water and stir until combined.

2. Sieve the caramelised mixture into a new pan. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the sieve to get all the sauce, then discard anything that’s left in the sieve. Add the fruit to the pan, bring to the boil and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes until you have a chunky chutney. Remove from the heat and transfer to a serving dish.

3. For the squid: preheat the vegetable oil in a deep pan or deep fat fryer to 150C - if you have a suitable thermometer, check the temperature. If not, use a small cube of potato - drop it into the oil and when it rises to the top and turns golden the oil is ready.

4. Score the large flat tubes of squid in a criss-cross fashion with a blunt knife. Bash the peppercorns in a pestle and mortar until you get a fine powder then mix with the cornflour and a good pinch of sea salt and dust this over the squid legs and tubes.

5. The squid legs will take a little longer to cook so put these in first, then a minute later add the rest. They will take around 2-3 minutes to become nice and crisp. Turn the heat off and using a slotted spoon, take the squid out of the pan and transfer to some kitchen paper to drain for a minute before slicing into bite-sized pieces.

6. For the salad: using scissors, snip the garlic chives (or chives) and shiso (or cress) into a bowl. Add the basil leaves, a squeeze of lime juice, a splash of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss together.

7. To serve, place some salad on the plate with a big pile of crispy squid and a dollop of chutney on the side.