My holidays just started. Threw together this quick lunch to kickstart the upcoming two weeks of not doing much and enjoying time off.

It has everything you want right now. Spice, tanginess from the kumquat and cardamom and freshness from the squid and the mint. Get your ass to the kitchen for this ghetto recipe and make yourself an amazing lunch in 10 minutes.

Ingredients

• Some kumquats (they're in season right now)
• Squid (a head or some calamares, anything goes really)
• Mint
• Cardamom pods
• Small chili
• Sumac (optional)
• Spring onion (optional)

Making it

1. Rinse off a kumquat or 4
2. Set a grill pan to the highest temperature so it can get blazing hot.
3. Slice kumquat in rings, as thin as possible. You can use a mandoline but I prefer a fucking sharp knife
4. Do the same for a small chili. You can deseed it if you want to.
5. Put the slices together in a small bowl
6. In a mortar & pestle bash/grind the seeds of a few cardamom pods, then add a pinch of coarse sea salt (or fleur de sel) and some sumac to the mortar.
7. Add the spices in the mortar to the kumquat & chili slices and then add a lug of your best olive oil. Combine everything with a spoon, fork or your fingers.
8. Rub some olive oil on your squid so it won't stick to the pan, season with a little bit of coarse salt.
9. Grill squid a few minutes each side. Two minutes each side works well, you want those lovely char marks. If it curls up, press it down with a plate or a cooking spatula a bit.
10. Dress squid on the plate, toss over kumquat & chili 'salad' and garnish with some fresh mint (or cilantro) and spring onion. A final mini-drizzle of good olive oil tops it off

Get a glass of white wine, a nice chilled dry vermouth and enjoy it babies. I think it's wonderful.

Enjoy the holidays, don't fuss too much and eat some good food. Peace ✌🏻