Recipes : Spring radish salad with squid, fennel & lemon

This brilliant mix of spring flavours from MasterChef judge and chef John Torode makes a special seasonal starter

Ingredients

• 250g assorted radishes , like red French breakfast and purple Plum
• 100g Chantenay carrots
• 3 tsp rice wine vinegar
• ½ tsp caster sugar
• 300g squid , cleaned
• 1 small fennel bulb, with fronds if possible
• 1 lemon , juiced
• olive oil
• 60ml vegetable oil
• 1 small chilli , very finely diced
• small bunch basil
• sourdough bread , grilled, to serve

1. Shave the radishes and carrots as thinly as possible on a mandoline. Keep separate. Warm the vinegar, then add the sugar and heat until it dissolves. Take from the heat and add the carrots. Leave to cool, then stir in the radishes.
2. Slit up one side of the squid, then open up so the inside is facing up. Score the inside by running a very sharp knife diagonally and on an angle across the squid as close together as possible, but don't cut all the way through. Turn the board 180 degrees and repeat the process so there are little diamonds scored in the flesh. Now cut into 3cm squares.
3. Pick any fronds from the fennel, then shave the bulb on a mandolin so it is almost translucent. Put in a bowl, sprinkle with a little salt, mix and leave for 3 minutes; it will start to go limp almost straight away. Squeeze over the juice of half a lemon, then add a generous tbsp of olive oil and the chilli.
4. Heat a wok and when it's really hot add a splash of vegetable oil, then toss in the squid. Cook for 2 minutes until the squid curls up. Take from the heat, add to the marinated fennel and toss together. Shred the basil leaves and mix with the fennel and squid (add any fennel fronds at this point).
5. Divide the marinated carrots and radishes between plates, then top with the squid and fennel. Serve with chargrilled bread.

PER SERVING

166 kcalories, protein 8,4g, carbohydrate 3,6g, fat 13,2 g, saturated fat 1,5g, fibre 1,3g, salt 0,17 g