The minute I tasted this mouth-watering dish at a friend’s house the other night, I knew I was going to have to attempt recreating it at home. And I did. Twice. Because it was that good.

Adding chorizo to anything will make you feel like you’re eating at a lively tapas bar in the streets of Spain, and this recipe is a perfect illustration of that. The association of the pimenton-spiced sausage to calamari and chickpea is out of this world and when its spicy flavor and glorious red color mix into the olive oil, it just warrants a huge bread mopping.

Keep in mind, this isn’t a stew so I wouldn’t serve it on a bed of rice or anything like that. My chef-esque friend served this atop a bed of rocket as a main and it was perfect because it added a touch of lightness to the whole affair. I could also imagine eating it out of little tapas plates as an appetizer. Either way, it’s a winner.

Note: This might be a bit picky on my part but try and get a brand of chickpeas that aren’t too soft when drained. In Dubai I use the Spinney’s organic ones for this. You could also cook your own but that will take longer….

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 16 calamari, cleaned with tentacles
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 can chickpeas, drained (you could also soak and cook 1/2 cup dry yourself at home)
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 4 roasted tomatoes* or 16 cherry tomatoes, halved
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup parsley, coarsely chopped
• Salt, pepper to taste
• 4 cups rocket, rinsed and pat dry

• I really should post the roast tomatoes recipe because I use it all the time and make big batches of it that keep for a couple of days in the fridge. Here goes: Heat oven to 300F. Get good quality tomatoes, cut them in half, seed them and salt them lightly. Place them skin side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment oil and that has a drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle some herbes de Provence on them (or dried thyme). Put in the oven for 30-45 minutes or until skin gets golden brown. Flip the halves over and roast for another 10 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool. Stores in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Instructions

1. Cut half the calamari once lengthwise to open them up and then across into slices. Cut the other half into rings. This way you get different shapes. Alternatively, you cut them each into two pieces lengthwise and score them in criss cross.
2. Heat half the oil in  large pan on medium/high
3. Toss in the calamari let the juices come out and evaporate, around 3-4 minutes. Add the chorizo and toss for another minute.
4. Add the chickpeas, tomatoes,cumin, smoked paprika and toss for another minute.
5. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with remainder of oil and serve on a bed of rocket