Life is about balance. One of my favourite things will always be to sit on the beachfront with a glass of wine, eating freshly cooked fish and chips. Ahh the serenity!

However, eating a deep-fried laden, newspaper wrapped parcel of delight is not always a beneficial decision for your arteries.

Enter fish and chip’s sexy, healthy cousin – lemon lime calamari with sweet potato salad and tahini sauce. It’s the perfect combination of soft, crunchy, sweet and tangy with a garlic hit. A great weeknight alternative when the beach is just a little too far away!

Ingredients (serves 4) 

Calamari

• 4 squid hoods (1 per person)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley

Salad

• 1/2 red cabbage
• 2 small purple sweet potatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• pinch of salt
• 1 brown onion
• 50g packet of baby spinach leaves

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons natural Greek yogurt

Method

1. Slice the squid hood into rings and place in a bowl with the lemon, lime, parsley and finely sliced garlic cloves. For best results, marinate overnight, but will also work if marinated for an hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 200*C. Use a mandolin slicer to finely slice the potatoes (keep the skin on) and mix with the olive oil and salt. Slice the onion into wedges. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake the potatoes until crispy and the onion until golden and soft (15-20 minutes for both).
3. Finely slice the cabbage but keep the spinach leaves whole. Separate the onion layers and slice. Add to the salad mix with the sweet potatoes.
4. To make the dressing, mix the yogurt and tahini with a fork until combined.
5. To cook the calamari, remove the rings from the marinade, place a piece of baking paper on a non-stick fry pan and cook the calamari on top, turning after 3 minutes on each side. The rings should be slightly golden and soft to cut into.
6. Place the dressing in a small bowl; place the salad on a nice plate and top with the calamari. Best served while the potatoes and calamari are still hot!