The Chef
David Pasternack of Esca

Servings
Serves 6

Ingredients
Salsa Verde
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
3 sprigs rosemary, picked from the stem
2 anchovy fillets
1 clove garlic, peeled
1⁄2 cup chives, cut into 1-inch lengths
1 cup fennel tops, picked from the stem
6 sprigs tarragon, leaves picked from the stem
3 sprigs oregano, picked from the stem
2 cups parsley leaves
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
11⁄2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Grilled Calamari
1 pound cleaned calamari (about 12 bodies and 12 tentacles)
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1⁄4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1⁄2 garlic clove
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1⁄2 cup freshly made bread crumbs
Zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon coarsely chopped parsley

Cooking Instructions
Salsa verde
In a mortar (or Cuisinart), crush the sea salt and rosemary into a fine dust. Add the anchovies and garlic, and pound until the mixture has the consistency of a paste.

Add the remaining ingredients, crushing them after each addition. Salt and pepper to taste.

Calamari
Preheat the grill.

Cut off the 1⁄4-inch tip from each squid body, leaving a small hole at one end and the large opening at the other end. Place the bodies and the tentacles in a medium mixing bowl with 4 tablespoons olive oil, red-pepper flakes, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Let the calamari marinate for 15 to 20 minutes while you make the bread-crumb stuffing.

In a bowl, mix the bread crumbs, remaining oil, lemon zest, parsley, and a pinch of red-pepper flakes until well combined.

Remove the calamari from the refrigerator. Place the bodies and tentacles on a platter. Stuff each of the bodies with 2 teaspoons of the bread-crumb mixture, to coat the inside. Season the bodies and tentacles with salt and pepper. Grill them over a really hot fire, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Serve with the salsa verde.

Photograph by Beatriz Da Costa