Squid and Cherry Tomato Ajillo, cooked at camp

Garlic goes into cold oil, and the pan goes over a low flame. That is where this dish begins.

Dish Symphony No.2 is a salt-free blend built around Java long pepper and maqaw, with eleven spices and herbs woven around them. Maqaw carries a citrus scent close to lemongrass, and it dissolves readily into oil. As the cold oil warms slowly, that scent rises together with the garlic. Squid has little fat of its own, so this is the blend we reach for when we want to add aroma without adding salt.

The longer squid stays in the pan, the tighter it gets. Keep the heat low enough that the oil only murmurs, and sink the squid for the last four minutes alone.

Total time: about 20 min

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• Dish Symphony No.2: 2 tsp
• Squid (bodies): 300 g
• Cherry tomatoes: 12
• Garlic: 4 cloves
• Olive oil: 150 ml
• Salt: 2/3 tsp
• Baguette: 1/2 (optional)
• Lemon: 1/4 (optional)

Frozen squid rings or squid rolls work just as well. They save you gutting anything at the campsite, so on the day you are packing they are the faster choice. Thaw them in the fridge over half a day, or hold the bag under running water until they are part-frozen, then cut. Put them into the oil still frozen and the water they give off will make it spit.

Preparation

1. Cut the squid bodies into 1.5 cm rings. Once cut, pat them thoroughly dry with paper towel. Water left on them will make the oil spit the moment they go in.
2. Remove the stalks from the cherry tomatoes and pierce each one in a single place with a bamboo skewer. The skin stays whole, and the juice inside seeps out into the oil little by little.
3. Halve the garlic lengthways and remove the germ if there is one.
4. If you are taking a baguette, slice it 2 cm thick.
5. If you are serving lemon, cut it into wedges.

Instructions

1. Put the olive oil (150 ml), the garlic (4 cloves) and Dish Symphony No.2 (2 tsp) into a skillet and stir once, before any heat. Starting from cold oil means the aroma moves into the oil fully before the garlic takes on colour.
2. Set it over a low flame and warm it for about 3 minutes, until fine bubbles rise from the base. Turn the heat up and only the garlic and the spices will burn first.
3. Add the cherry tomatoes (12) and the salt (2/3 tsp) and simmer for 5 minutes, still low. The corners round off and fine wrinkles appear in the skins.
4. Add the squid and simmer for 4 minutes, still low. When the rings shrink and turn white and the cut edges begin to curl, take the pan off the heat. From here on, every extra minute tightens the flesh.
5. Once the heat is off, scatter over a pinch of Dish Symphony No.2. Squeeze over the lemon if you like.
6. Rest the baguette on the rim of the skillet to warm it, and dip it into the oil. It is just as good with nothing dipped in it at all — only the squid and the tomatoes.

A single burner suits this better than the embers of a campfire. What matters most here is holding a low flame, and over charcoal you cannot read the heat.

The oil left in the pan has taken up the scent of the spices, the juice of the tomatoes and the liquor of the squid. Do not throw it away — move it into a container and put it into tomorrow morning's pasta or a stir-fry. It also lightens the load you carry home.

There is no salt in Dish Symphony No.2. The only salt in this dish is that 2/3 tsp, so on a day when you are dipping bread, taste it and add a pinch more.