Squid, feta, tomato, cucumber and watermelon salad by Roy Brett of Ondine
Groucho Marx famously once said, “I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member”. Generally I would agree with that sentiment but when it comes to the list of the 100 Best British Restaurants, I will make an honourable exception.
Organised by Restaurant Magazine, the list recognises the vibrancy of the UK eating scene with a panel of top chefs, restaurateurs and food writers deciding who deserves a place. When you receive an invitation to the awards night at the swanky Hurlingham Club in London, you know you’ve made the cut. But when the start counting down from number 100 to the top spot, the nerves and dreams start to kick in.
Last Tuesday night, I was lucky enough to be there when my name was called and my restaurant Ondine was named Best Restaurant in Scotland and the 26th best in the whole of the UK. At that moment people always thank the team around them for making it possible but that is absolutely true. While I was in London accepting the award, we had a full restaurant of happy customers in Edinburgh but that is only possible when you have the best suppliers and kitchen and front of house teams.
It was a humbling moment for me, especially looking around the room. Some of the biggest names in British food are on the list including Nathan Outlaw, Sat Bains, Tom Kerridge, Jason Atherton and Clare Smyth. From Scotland I was proud to stand alongside Timberyard and Restaurant Andrew Fairlie.
The whole thing was an honour and a privilege but to be honest, big award ceremonies are not really my thing. What I did enjoy about the trip south was meeting some amazing fellow chefs and diving into London’s incredible eating out scene.
Even 24 hours is enough to get inspiration and energy from the capital’s vibrant restaurant sector where everything changes all the time. As a young chef, I worked in London and loved the experience but I can’t imagine being anywhere but in Scotland now, especially at this time of the year.
As we move into summer, our produce is now at it’s very best and there is an embarrassment of riches to choose from. So much so that it can inspire some unusual but amazing combinations. This dish has been a summer favourite at Ondine. Simple, fresh and incredibly tasty it is best eaten outside in the Scottish sunshine with a glass of crisp, white wine.
Char Grilled Squid
This salad has featured on our menus every year at this time. My dear friend Anna Laming invited my family to enjoy real Greek Cookery for the first time. Simple, beautiful flavour combinations and respecting the ingredients is what I learned from the experience. This dish is dedicated to Anna and is our most popular salad to date. The tomatoes we use are called Heritage. Clyde Valley Tomatoes are producing very agreeable varieties too.
Ingredients
For the Olive Salt
80g Greek black olives, pitted
Tbsp sea salt
200g Squid
To Prepare the Squid
1. Remove the body from the tentacles.
2. Cut off the tentacles and remove the beak.
3. Run your finger under the membrane and remove the wings, scrape clean.
4. Remove the quill from the body.
5. Cut the body down one side and open up the squid.
6. Wash well then scrape off any membrane and score in the inside of the squid to tenderise.
For the Salad
12 assorted Heritage tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 cucumber, cut into cubes
Half a watermelon, cut into cubes
200g Feta cheese, cut into cubes
1 lemon, juiced
1 pinch of chilli flakes
60g fresh mint, basil and oregano
100ml of olive oil
Method
1. The day before, prepare the olive salt. Chop or blend the olives with the sea salt and allow to dry overnight.
2. On the day, heat up a heavy based non-stick griddle or sauté pan.
3. Brush the squid in olive oil, sprinkle over the olive salt, pepper and chilli flakes.
4. Place the squid scored side down along with tentacles into the pan.
5. When you turn the squid it will curl up into a cylinder, cook for a further minute then remove from the pan.
6. For the salad, mix together the tomatoes, cucumber, watermelon and Feta cheese. Add a little lemon juice, chilli flakes and olive oil and mix lightly and add half of the mixed herbs to the salad. Season to taste.
7. Divide the salad between four plates. Slice the squid into delicate rings and arrange on the salad. Sprinkle with olive oil, olive salt, lemon juice and the remaining herbs.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here