Deep-fried squid and courgettes

Serves 4

It seems that when you're on holiday, you can't avoid calamari. Lots of cheapo places buy it in ready-battered and frozen: it just gets plunged into dirty oil that's usually not hot enough, and you end up with an oily, rubbery mess.

Making them to a much higher standard at home isn't too hard, and there are several ways to do it. You can coat them in breadcrumbs, or make a light batter with self-raising flour and beer or water, or you can use a coating of milk and flour to give a really light batter effect, which is what I have done here.

Children like it cut into rings as it reminds them of the holidays, but I quite like to cut the tubes into random, roughly cut squares.

500g medium-sized squid, cleaned
2 courgettes
100g self-raising flour
250-300ml milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable or corn oil for deep frying
2 halved lemons for serving

For the garlic mayonnaise

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1tbsp olive oil
4tbsp good quality mayonnaise

Pre-heat about 8cm of oil to 160-180C in a large, thick-bottomed saucepan or electric deep fat fryer. Using a mandolin with a shredding attachment, or a sharp knife, cut the courgettes into 4-5cm lengths then shred into slightly-thicker-than-matchstick-sized shreds. Cut the squid into rough 2-3cm squares and dry on some kitchen paper.

To make the garlic mayonnaise, gently heat the garlic in the olive oil for a minute then leave to cool; then mix in with the mayo.

Have 2 bowls ready, one with the seasoned flour and the other with milk. Pass the courgettes first through the flour, shaking off any excess, then through the milk, again shaking off any excess, finally through the flour again. Fry in the hot fat, a couple of handfuls at a time for a few minutes, until golden, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on some kitchen paper. Repeat with the squid and fry until golden.

Mix the squid and courgettes and serve with the halved lemons and the garlic mayonnaise.