One of Collette White’s mantras is “Take care of you”, along with “Cut out the Crap” which is also the name of her website. Cut out the Crap is the result of Collette’s personal journey to improve her diet after developing severe food allergies. This inspiring lady challenges the way we think about food. Instead of considering food intolerance and allergies as an obstacle, Collette encourages her readers to see them as a positive challenge that requires creative thinking and a fresh approach to food.
“It is a beautifully satisfying meal, something a little bit fancy, but easy enough that anyone can cook it!” says Collette. We also love Collette’s cheeky idea of printing out the recipe and leaving it “on the kitchen bench for your partner with a very subtle message of “cook this for me” written on it???!!!” ENJOY!
Squid:
- 2 squid tubes (cleaned) – approx 300g each
- 6 toothpicks
Rice Stuffing:
- ¾ cup brown rice
- ½ a lemon
- 80g pistachios – toasted
- ½ teaspoon herbamare (or salt & pepper)
- ½ a bunch of flat leaf parsley – finely shredded
- ½ a bunch of coriander – finely shredded
- ½ a bunch of dill – finely shredded
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Zest of ½ a lemon
Sauce:
- 2 red capsicums – approx 700g roughly chopped
- 2 brown onions – approx 250g roughly chopped
- 1-2 small red hot chilli sliced – (depending on how hot you like food)
- Pinch herbamare
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¾ cup water
Method:
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Add the ½ lemon to the brown rice and cook as per normal.
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Drain rice and set aside, allow to cool as long as you can (at least half an hour).
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Once cooled, place the rice, pistachios, herbamare, parsley, coriander, dill, lemon juice and lemon zest into a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
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Place all the ingredients for the sauce (EXCEPT FOR THE ¾ cup water) into a large frying pan. Cook over a high heat for 5 minutes (don’t let it burn) then add the ¾ cup water, reduce heat to medium and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Pour into a bowl and puree with hand whisk. Set aside. DON’T clean out the pan.
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Stuff squid tubes 2/3 full with rice stuffing and close ends by threading with toothpicks.
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Place 2 tablespoons oil into the frying pan you just made the sauce in and heat on medium -high.
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Cook squid tubes for approx 5 minutes either side – until thoroughly cooked – but be careful not to overcook!
To serve:
Place the sauce at the bottom of the serving plate. Slice stuffed squid into approx 2cm pieces and place on top of sauce.
Serves 2 (large portions) or 3 with salad.
Check out Collette’s website, Cut out the Crap.
Mr Gift also has a great range of kitchen gadgets and accessories to help you prepare your dream Valentine’s Day feast.
