Grilled Calamari Salad With Roasted Beets, Toasted Pistachios, Grated Pecorino Romano, and Warm Garlic Verjus Vinaigrette
Calamari
7 ounces baby calamari tubes and tentacles (mostly tubes and 3 tentacles per salad and then cut tentacles in 1/2)
1 ounce extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 minced garlic clove
1 sprig fresh thyme
1/4 sliced shallot
salt and pepper to taste
7 slices 1/8-inch thick roasted beets
5 sprigs baby mesculin
4 haricots verts, blanched and cut in half (reserve cold)
1 teaspoon pecorino Romano, grated
2 teaspoons toasted pistachios
Marinate calamari with extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, thyme, shallot, and salt and pepper to taste for at least 2 hours or up to overnight. Reserve.
Season calamari out of marinade with salt and pepper to taste. Grill both sides, cooking quickly about 1 1/2 minutes.
Vinaigrette
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 clove minced garlic
5 leaves fresh thyme
3/4 minced shallot
1/8 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon verjus green grape juice (verjus is the pressed juice of unripened grapes)
3 drops lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
In a sauce pot add extra-virgin olive oil and heat. Add garlic, thyme, and shallots and cook 30 seconds. Add Dijon, verjus, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Reserve hot.
To assemble, toss calamari with a portion of the warm vinaigrette. Arrange roasted beets in spiral on plate, spoon calamari in middle, and place haricots verts around calamari forming a tee pee. Drizzle remaining vinaigrette over and around dish and top with sprinkles of Romano and pistachios. Garnish with 3 sprigs mesculin.
