Put the cuttle on Why the humble fish dish is on the crest of a wave

It's a delicacy overseas and is finally finding favour at British tables. But there are concerns about the sustainability of cuttlefish

- Tomé Morrissy-Swan

It can be braised low and slow or grilled in a hot flash, covered in sauce and canned or stirred through a paella. Cuttlefish, a cephalopod related to squid, is the seafood menu offering du jour.

In March a cuttlefish risotto was added to the menu at Rick Stein's The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall. In Cardiff, at Heaneys, you can find a dish of pork belly, cuttlefish and borlotti beans. At Cycene in London's Shoreditch, a goat ragu with cuttlefish noodles.

About 4,000 tonnes of cuttlefish are landed in the UK every year. Largely caught in the English Channel, little ends up on British plates, with most exported, as it is a delicacy in France and Spain.

"It's such an underrated ingredient, packed with flavour, versatile, and when treated right it can really shine on a plate," says chef Tommy Heaney, who runs his eponymous restaurant in Cardiff. Heaney describes it as "sweet, tender and meaty, more so than squid. It's incredibly delicate but holds up beautifully in rich or brothy dishes."

Dean Parker, chef at Celentano's, in Glasgow, has cooked it for several years, and sources it seasonally - from February to July. His customers are curious and he says it is popular. Parker poaches the wings, tentacles and body for a ragu, the guts are cooked down in stock, and the ink sacks blended to enrich the stock.