Recipes from great chefs. Cuttlefish, allievo, almond and lemon by Angelo Sabatelli

Cuttlefish, allievo* (baby calamari), almond and lemon

Yields 4 servings

Candied lemon

100 g lemon peel

100 g sugar

200 g lemon juice

100 g water

White almond cream

200 g whole almonds (non hydratated)

120 g mineral water

L’allievo*

120 g allievi (2 weighing aprox. 60 g each)

Cuttlefish veil

200 g cuttlefish (white part only)

10 g egg white

For the sea licorice

10 g shallot

20 g butter

100 g cuttlefish ink

20 g Cognac

200 g fresh dulse seaweed

300 g cold water

50 g fresh tomato, cubed

30 g heavy cream

200 g urchin roe

5 g Xantana

For the garnish

6 g sea licorice

60 g white almond cream

20 g candied lemon, finely julienned

For the candied lemon: blanche and shock lemons in ice water three times to peel off the skin. In another saucepan, boil the water with sugar and lemon juice. When boiling add the lemon peels and cook gently until translucent. Cool and julienne. Any leftover can be stored in the fridge up to 4 weeks.

For the almond cream: in a Pacojet glass, place whole almonds and water to freeze. Process three times and save in a pastry bag (as an alternative, use a powerful blender to reduce to a fine cream).

L’allievo: cut the body and head of the small cuttlefish into four identical halves, remove the mouth and liver and store in very cold sea water.

For the cuttlefish veil: in a blender, reduce the cuttlefish with the egg white, strain it to eliminate any tougher parts, save the white part and season to taste. Divide in two equal parts into sous vide bags, seal and using a rolling pin, flatten to obtain two rectangles. Steam at 65°C for approximately 6 minutes, shock in ice water and cut in half forming 4 equal rectangles.

For the sea licorice: brown the shallot in butter, add the cuttlefish ink and Cognac, and reduce the sauce. Add dulse seaweed and cover with cold water, cooking over mild heat. As soon as the liquid boils, add the tomato and heavy cream, reducing all by 50%. Blend everything in a Thermomix for 2 minutes at max speed, add the urchin roe and Xantana; blend more and press through a sieve. Gently smear a thin layer of cream on silicone mats and dehydrate at 60°C for 4-5 hours. Then blend everything and store the obtained powder in an airtight container.

Plate: Pipe two tips of almond cream at the centre of each dish, top one with the body and the other with the head of the allievo, season with candied lemon, and cover all with the cuttlefish veil, dusting it with sea licorice.

* Allievi are young cuttlefish that when curled become crunchy like cucumbers