RECIPE

FILLING
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces ground lamb
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons white miso paste
1 teaspoon sambal paste
½ teaspoon soy sauce

CRISPY SHALLOTS
2 cups peanut or vegetable oil
¾ cup rice flour
¼ cup cornstarch
4 shallots, sliced into very thin rounds
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper

12 medium squid tubes, plus tentacles (about 1 pound)
Peanut or vegetable oil
1 cup Miso-Marcona Almond Butter
6 tablespoons Cilantro Vinaigrette

1. To make the filling: Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Sweat the shallot and garlic by cooking them until they are translucent, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, add the lamb, mustard, miso, sambal, and soy sauce and cook to brown lightly, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

2. Meanwhile, to make the crispy shallots: Heat the peanut oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed medium sauce-pot until it registers 375 degrees (F) on a deep-fry thermometer. (QUICK TIP: If you don’t have a deep-fry thermometer, put the handle end of a wooden spoon in the hot oil to test the temperature instead. When a steady stream of bubbles forms around the handle, the oil is hot enough.

3. Mix together the rice flour and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Coat the shallots in the flour mixture and then shake them in a sieve to remove any excess flour. Carefully add the shallots to the hot oil in two batches and move them around with tongs as they fry to avoid clumping. When each batch is lightly browned and crispy, remove the shallots to drain on a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.

4. Preheat the grill (charcoal or gas) to medium. When the lamb mixture is cool enough to handle, stuff it into the squid tubes. Brush the outside of each tube with the peanut oil and toss the tentacles in oil as well. Grill the stuffed tubes and tentacles until just cooked through, turning once or twice, 2 to 3 minutes.

5. Serve the squid over a smear of the almond butter and top with a drizzle of the cilantro vinaigrette and the crispy fried shallots.