Squid stuffed with chorizo, prawn and red pepper risotto, lemon and tomato fondue

Red peppers liven up this richly flavoured chorizo and prawn risotto that is used to stuff baby squid tubes. An oregano-infused tomato sauce brings freshness to the dish.

This recipe was created by The Light Horse and it's one of the 12 finalists of Bite's Estrella Damm Tapas Competition in 2014. Click here to see all of the finalists.

The Light Horse, 60 Highbrook Drive, East Tamaki, Auckland

Tomato fondue

½	Onions, use a white onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp	Crushed garlic
1 Tbsp	Dried oregano
1 Tbsp	Tomato paste
2 Tbsp	White wine vinegar
500 ml	Tomato passata
2 Tbsp	Brown sugar

Stuffed squid

6	Baby squid, tubes, cleaned (Main)
½ cup	Arborio rice, cooked
100 g	Chorizo sausages, finely chopped (Main)
100 g	Cooked prawns, finely chopped
50 g	Roasted capsicum, chopped
50 g	Cream cheese, or feta
2 Tbsp	Fresh chives, chopped
1	Plain flour, to coat
½ Ltr	Vegetable oil, or canola oil
1 to serve	Lemon, cut into wedges, fresh or chargrilled

Directions

1. To make the tomato fondue, in a medium sized saucepan, sweat onion, garlic and oregano in a little vegetable or canola oil until soft. Add tomato paste and cook for a further 5 minutes on low to medium heat.
2. Add vinegar, passata and sugar and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm and set aside.
3. Pat squid with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
4. In a small bowl, combine rice, chorizo, prawns, red peppers, cream cheese and chives. Mix thoroughly.
5. Fill each squid tube with the mixture, being cautious not to overfill. Seal each tube with a toothpick.
6. Dust squid tubes lightly in flour and shallow fry for 2 minutes on both sides until golden.
7. Serve the squid immediately with the tomato fondue on the side. Accompany with a wedge of fresh or chargrilled lemon.