Charred Squid Toast with Chermoula Marinade

Chef Tom Douglas, Seattle

Number of servings

Chermoula Marinade ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed Sunkist® lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons sambal oelek
  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
  • 0.75 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 0.5 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 0.5 cup extra virgin olive oil

Lemon Vinaigrette ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed Sunkist lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons minced shallots
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Squid ingredients

  • 10 pounds cleaned squid bodies, with or without tentacles
  • 12 10-inch bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes and drained

Garlic Toasts ingredients

  • whole, peeled garlic cloves
  • rustic bread, sliced ½ to ¾ inches thick
  • olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Assembly & Plating ingredients

  • 6 lemon wedges, for garnish

Chermoula Marinade

Directions

  1. To make the marinade, combine the parsley, cilantro, lemon juice, garlic, paprika, sambal, lemon zest, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk in the oil.
  2. Pour the marinade over the squid, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Lemon Vinaigrette

Directions

  1. To make the lemon vinaigrette, combine the lemon juice and shallots in a small bowl and whisk in the olive oil.
  2. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Squid

Directions

  1. If your squid bodies have fins (thin flaps) attached to them, slice off and discard them. Put the blade of your knife inside a squid body and carefully slice it open, cutting away from you, so you have one flat piece. Cut this piece in half, lengthwise. You will have two squid pieces, shaped like two long, tapered rectangles. Using your knife, lightly score the inside of each rectangle in a crosshatch pattern, not cutting all the way through. Repeat this procedure with all the squid bodies. To skewer the squid, thread one rectangle, lengthwise, onto a bamboo skewer, followed by 2 tentacles (if using), then another rectangle. Pick up another skewer and continue until all the squid bodies are used. (You may have some tentacles left over; you can thread them together on a skewer.) Place the skewers in a non-reactive pan.
  2. Fire up your grill. Remove the skewers from the refrigerator and allow the squid to come to room temperature.
  3. Shake off excess marinade, then grill the skewers over a hot fire, direct heat, with the lid off. Turn the skewers several times as needed, until the squid is cooked through, opaque, and charred in a few places, about 1 to 3 minutes total time, depending on the heat of your fire. Do not overcook, or the squid will be tough. Remove the skewers from the grill.

Garlic Toasts

Directions

  1. Smash the garlic cloves with the side of your knife, and rub a garlic clove over each slice of bread that you are grilling.
  2. Generously brush the slices, on both sides, with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Grill the bread over direct heat with the lid off, until golden and crusty, about 1 minute per side.

Assembly & Plating

Directions

  1. Put the arugula in a bowl and toss it with about 2 tablespoons of the lemon vinaigrette.
  2. Arrange the garlic toasts on a platter. Top each toast with some arugula salad.
  3. Put 2 squid skewers on top of each toast and drizzle the remaining vinaigrette over the skewers. Garnish with the lemon wedges.

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