Squid with orzo.

I was going to write about my current favourite recipe books, starting with an article about the main ones that I like, before doing something about a recipe from each of them. But I was hungry, so here's Squid with Orzo, from the most recent Nigella Lawson book.

Here's a picture of what you need. I'm not sure why the designers of this book have put the ingredients list on a different page than the method. I'm using dried dill, as we have none growing yet. The little measuring jug has 30ml of ouzo in it.

The recipe starts with chopped shallots, chopped fennel, and crushed garlic.

Those get put in a casserole, with olive oil, and cooking commences. Now, I particularly like the fact that Nigella tells you how big the casserole will need to be, to fit the resulting food. If you've ever had to find a bigger dish, half way through cooking something, you will know why!

In go the squids. I noticed there were no tentacles in the box when I defrosted it. I must have used those already. Keep heating gently, and stirring.

Here's the 300g of orzo pasta, which looks like rice, but isn't, along with my favourite brand of canned and pureed tomatoes. I only just noticed that Napolina have offices in the Liver Building, which used to have the offices of Blue Funnel Line (I worked for them for a while, back at the dawn of time) before that company went into oblivion.

Anyway, the tomatoes, a tablespoon of puree, and a can of water go in. Bring it to the boil, put the lid on, and put it in the oven, at 160°C for an hour and twenty minutes. Sure, I didn't tell you to preheat the oven, but of course, Nigella does. Her books are full of recipes that work, with none of the awful snags I may have mentioned in a previous article, though I'm still puzzled by ingredients and method on separate pages. Orzo has a tendency to stick to the casserole; Nigella claims those are the tastiest bits! 

After the 80 minutes of cooking, you mix in some hot water, and cook for another 10 minutes with the lid off. Nigella's food photographer has made hers look a lot redder than mine, but I can tell you it was delicious.

There's quite a lot left, some of which may well get frozen for later. Meanwhile, I think I fancy a little more...