Squid skewers with salsa verde, lime aioli and pistachios

Tender squid skewers, seasoned with garlic, lime and Pimientos de Padrón. Bring on the barbecue season! Recipe by Sophia Schilik

Ingredients for 4 people:

Squid skewers:

• 1 kg small squid (baby calamari, small cuttlefish or baby octopus)
• 150 g Pimientos de Padrón (green fried peppers)
• 4 spring onions
• Olive oil for frying
• 2 garlic cloves
• Zest of 1 organic lime plus a little juice
• Salt and pepper

Salsa verde:

• 1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley
• 1⁄2 bunch of coriander, sorrel or fresh wild garlic (or a mix)
• 1 handful of basil, or alternatively fresh mint
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 tbsp capers
• Juice of 1 lime
• 100 ml mild extra virgin olive oil

Aioli with lime and aquafaba:

• Liquid from a 400 g tin of chickpeas (aquafaba)
• 10 individual chickpeas (or a little more)
• 11⁄2–2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1–2 garlic cloves
• 1⁄2 tsp salt
• Zest of 1 organic lime
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 250 ml neutral vegetable oil (grape seed oil, sunflower oil or rapeseed oil)

Also:

• 1-2 Handvoll Pistazienkerne
• Limettenspalten zum Servieren
• 1–2 handfuls of pistachios
• Lime wedges to serve

Method:

1. Wash, gut and clean the squid thoroughly. To do this, cut off the tentacles below the beak with a sharp knife, peel the skin off, rinse the head and body thoroughly and pat dry. Gut the baby octopuses as well and remove the dark skin. Alternatively, you can use frozen, ready-to-cook squid bodies and octopus.
2. For the salsa verde, wash the herbs, pat them dry thoroughly and chop them coarsely. Peel the garlic clove and chop it coarsely as well. Place in a food processor with an S-blade along with the remaining ingredients and process using the pulse button for a few seconds until you have a salsa that is still slightly chunky. Alternatively, the ingredients can be placed in a tall mixing jug and blended with a hand blender. However, the salsa verde turns out best and tastes best if you chop the herbs, garlic clove and capers very finely by hand using a large knife and then mix them with olive oil, mustard and lime juice in a bowl.
3. For the lime aioli, place the chickpea liquid (approx. 7 tbsp) together with the chickpeas, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, lime juice and zest into a tall blender jug and blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly pour in the oil in a thin stream, continuing to blend until the desired consistency is reached. Depending on the amount of chickpea liquid, you may need to add a little more vegetable oil or a few chickpeas. Then season to taste.
   Sealed airtight, this egg-free aioli will keep for 1–2 weeks.
4. Place the squid, Pimientos de Padrón and spring onions in a bowl and toss with olive oil, finely grated garlic, lime zest, a splash of juice, salt and pepper. Leave to marinate briefly, then fry over a high heat in a cast-iron (grill) pan until the vegetables and squid pieces start to colour – approx. 2–4 minutes depending on their size.
   Thread in alternating order onto skewers and serve with salsa verde, lime aioli, pistachios and lime wedges.

Alternatively, you can thread the squid and vegetable pieces onto skewers beforehand and grill them over charcoal.