Grilled squids with carrot neige, chickpeas and charmoula

You can substitute small tender squids for baby octopus, cuttlefish or slices of THICK octopus tentacle.
Even though it might look complex and labour intensive, a bit of planning ahead and good prep will make this dish a breeze...

1) Chickpeas: you'll have them soaked overnight . Rinse them and boil them with some garlic, bay leaves and some chili flakes.Give them 20 minutes a full boil, check for doneness and salt.

When tender, but not soft, shut the heat and let cool.

2) Carrot neige: while the chickpeas boil, prepare this.

Peel and slice carrots in round, quite thin (couple mills), place them in a pan  with a big chi¿unk of butter, a good amount of sugar and enough water to almost cover the carrots.

Add a small splash of vanilla and simmer  until tender.

Transfer to a blender, add enough cream and blend life out of it...

If you feel fancy and proper, go ahead and strain.

3) Charmoula:Think you're making a pesto with half cilantro and half Italian parsley. Add garlic, paprika, coriander and cumin ( all to taste..), salt and lemon juice. Lube with a generous amount of olive oil and pulse in a robot or a blender until you achieve the "pesto texture".

Flavour wise, you'll want to taste the citrus of the lemon and of the coriander seeds, above the cumin... but still the herbs are going to be there..present and fragrant.

4) Protein: marinate briefly with vegetable oil, garlic, S&P and a bit oh heat.

Place on a HOT grill and cook until tender and nicely charred/marked on the outside.

That's it, just put the dish together as in the pic and enjoy...wine? BEER!

Buon Appetito! ; )