Venetian bigoli with squid

On holiday in Venice I had the chance to try out my (very bad) Italian buying at the Rialto fish market - there was so much to choose from; huge John Dory, tiny crabs, gamberi (prawns), perch, bright silver sardines - but here's how I cooked the squid I bought:

Serves two

300g medium-sized squid, cleaned and cut into big rings, tentacles left whole
150g Venetian bigoli (long tube-like pasta, a bit like hollow spaghetti)
1 medium or 2 small shallots, finely sliced
2 small plum tomatoes, finely sliced
olive oil
15g unsalted butter
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Bring a big pot of salted water to the boil, add some olive oil and cook the pasta according to pack instructions. Meanwhile, in a frying pan, heat the butter and lug of olive oil. Add the shallots and cook until just starting to colour. Add the squid and tomatoes and turn up the heat. Cook until the squid is just done (this will only take a couple of minutes - don't overcook). Drain the pasta, then add the squid, shallots and cooking liquor to the pasta. Mix well and serve with seasonal salad, such as rocket or radicchio.

Squid, mussel and saffron soup

This is a venetian-style soup, and has got a lot of my favourite things going on in it - seafood with a bit of spice... Serves two.

For the stock:
1 3/4 pints of water
2 carrots, chopped
half a bulb of fennel, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
1 potato, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
A sprig of wild thyme
Blade of mace
1 tsp fenugreek
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp fennel seeds
Handful of fresh parsley

Also:
1 kg live mussels, scrubbed and cleaned
Half a glass of white wine

And:
200g squid, cleaned and cut into rings (or any other seafood you fancy - I added some prawns and tuna steak when I cooked this for the picture)
Big pinch of saffron strands
1 medium sized mild red chilli, chopped finely
Big pinch of white pepper
Sea salt (or a dash of Thai fish sauce) to taste
20g unsalted butter
60ml single cream

First off, make the stock. Chuck all the chopped veg and the seasoning into a large pot with the water. Cover and bring to the boil, then uncover an simmer for about half an hour until the liquid has reduced down to about a pint. Strain, and set aside.
Next, cook the mussels. Clean and pull off the beards. Discard any that don't close tight when tapped. Put the mussels and the half glass of white wine in a large pan. Choose one with a close-fitting lid that's got a large enough bottom so that the mussels aren't piled up too deep. Cook covered on a medium-high heat for a couple of minutes, shaking the pan vigorously from time to time. As soon as the mussels have opened up, remove from the heat and tip them into a big colander with a bowl underneath to catch the liquor. Discard any that haven't opened properly. Remove the mussel meat from all except a handful of nice-looking ones, and set aside.
Next, heat some butter in a big pan. Add the chopped chilli and cook for a minute or so. Add the stock and the saffron and bring it to a slow simmer. Add the cream and the raw seafood and cook for a couple of minutes until just done. Add the mussels and the liquor (keep back the last spoonful as it may contain some grit). Add the parsley, check for seasoning, and serve.
This goes well with some crusty bread and a glass or two of rosé wine.