“I’m not a shaken cocktail guy,” says Clayton Wells, chef and co-founder of Sydney’s Automata. “I like things to be pretty simple and as uncomplicated as possible.”
That’s evidenced in both his drink pairing selections and his current focus. After closing the much-missed A1 Canteen in October 2020 as a result of the squeeze of Covid on small businesses, Wells’ flagship Chippendale restaurant is still going strong. Its success can be traced directly to Wells’ innate understanding of ingredients, gathered from stints working at kitchens in the UK, Scandinavia and Singapore, as well as in Sydney at Quay, Tetsuya’s and Momofuku Seiobo (the first outside the US) where he was sous chef.
Wells’ “uncomplicated” approach to drinks and food belies his creative flair. When tasked with creating a dish to match the smoky sizzle of a tequila cocktail, Wells’ first detailed the drink – a concoction of Don Julio tequila, pineapple juice, bitter tonic and the subtle heat of pickled jalapenos. To pair? Grilled southern calamari with a jalapeno and herb sauce, lardo and a squid-ink vinaigrette.
The first step is the sauce. Relying on ginger, garlic, jalapenos and coriander, Wells’ says the secret is to make the sauce ahead of time. “Just put it all in a blender and turn it on,” says Wells. “If you make the green sauce or jalapeno sauce ahead of time, you can then [on the day] light the barbeque or the grill, chuck on the calamari and it’s pretty much done.” He says having a little extra in the fridge is also practical - it leaves you with a killer sauce versatile enough to go with a steak or your morning bacon and eggs.
With the sauce locked away, you’ll then need to marinate the calamari in squid ink, ginger and oil for a few hours before firing up the barbeque. When it comes time to cook, a quick four-minute grill is all you’ll need. Plate it up, spoon over some of the hot sauce and some lardo and serve. There’s a simplicity to the process that belies the complexity of flavours in the finished dish.
“You get that fresh herbiness with the coriander and the other herbs there,” says Wells. “The lime juice is quite zingy, it makes it quite fun and the warmth from the jalapenos brings it all together. The acidity and the spice go well with the calamari. You get the nice richness from the ink as well.”
Here’s how to make Clayton Wells’ grilled southern calamari with jalapeno and herb sauce, lardo and squid-ink vinaigrette, and a spicy twist on a tequila cocktail.
Don Julio Blanco tequila with pineapple, jalapeno and Fever-Tree tonic
Makes one serving. Approx. 1.3 standard drinks
Ingredients:
40ml Don Julio Blanco tequila
60ml pineapple juice
60ml Fever-Tree tonic water
Ice
2 slices pickled jalapeno peppers
Method:
Pour ingredients into a highball glass over ice. Garnish with slices of pickled jalapeno peppers.
Grilled southern calamari with jalapeno and herb sauce, lardo and squid-ink vinaigrette
Serves 4
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
400g southern calamari tentacles
20g squid ink
40g grapeseed oil
10g grated ginger
60g lardo (thinly sliced)
¼ bunch coriander (leaves picked and washed)
Vinaigrette:
10g squid ink
20g sherry vinegar
30g extra-virgin olive oil
Jalapeno and herb sauce:
10g chopped ginger
1 clove garlic
80g pickled jalapeno peppers
20g jalapeno pickle liquid
½ bunch parsley
½ bunch coriander
½ bunch shallots (green tops only)
40g lime juice
100g olive oil
½ tsp ground white pepper
1tsp ground allspice
1tsp ground coriander seeds
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
Method
For the sauce, combine chopped ginger, garlic, pickled jalapeno peppers and pickle liquid in a blender and blend on high until combined. Add parsley and coriander and blend until smooth. Add shallot tops and blend for 30 seconds. Reducing to medium speed, add the lime juice then gradually add the olive oil until combined. Remove from blender and cool in an ice bath. When cooled, whisk in the spices, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until required.
To prepare the calamari, combine the tentacles and mix in 20g squid ink, 40g grapeseed oil and 10g grated ginger, and allow to marinate for a few hours before cooking.
For the vinaigrette, add 10g of squid ink and 20g sherry vinegar to a small bowl and whisk together. Gradually whisk in the olive oil until combined.
On a grill or barbeque, cook the calamari tentacles for about 4 minutes or until they’re just cooked. Set aside in a warm place until serving.
Spoon some of the jalapeno sauce onto a serving platter, add the calamari, then drizzle with the squid-ink vinaigrette. Lay over the sliced lardo and garnish with some coriander leaves.
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Don Julio. Please drink responsibly.
