Lignje a test of a mans worth

In Dalmatia they have a couple of sayings one of them is " Sto je muskarac bez brkove " what is a man without a moustache, I would say clean shaven but what they actually mean is that you can't call yourself a man without some facial hair and you can't call yourself a man OR a Dalmatian unless you can cook, much like the paella ritual in Spain which is the domain of men. In Dalmatia being known as a good cook is an honour  and being in charge of the BBQ is a given, with Lignje otherwise known as calamari a staple,  my Dida (grandfather) Tadija was a superb cook whilst my fiercely anti communist grandmother would take the children to church on Sunday my Dida who held a government job and hence if he was seen in church would have got the sack, remembering we are talking about Tito's communist Yugoslavia, would instead be preparing the Sunday lunch on their return and for whoever else might pop in ( communist or anti- communist he was a bit like that ever the diplomat) so this recipe was one they would have often and is in his honour. So all you blokes out there get cooking.

As many calamari as you like the smaller the better do not buy squid tubes they are an abomination.

Clean the inside of the calamari removing the "quill" which is the hard backbone, remove innards, and beak,a good trick is to use a spoon to scoop out the innards

Pat dry the calamari, keep the wings on ( the flaps either side of the main body )

marinade for a few hours in a gremolata which is olive oil, finely chopped parsley, finely chopped garlic, lemon zest, and a chopped Birdseye chili if you like it hot.

Fire up the charcoal on the BBQ wait till the coals are glowing and have gone white, place the lignje on the grill and char nicely all over they will go a beautiful pink colour, baste with a fresh batch of gremolata not the one they were marinading in.

to serve drizzle slightly with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.

best served with Blitva which is silver beet sauteed served with boiled potatoes and drizzled with olive oil , lemon and salt and pepper.