Chocolate Calamari soup: weird is good

Few days ago I wanted to experiment a bit with calamari. I had in mind two dishes to work on for dinner. The first didn't turn out as I wished so you will have to wait to try it for yourself, but the second was delish!
Not really much to write about this dish, the fact that it includes chocolate should be sufficient to stimulate your imagination.
Chocolate and calamari? You would say; yep they go quite well together too!

Try it and let me know...

I have also tried a new style of photography.

Chocolate-Calamari soup

Ingredients (1 main or 2 appetizer sized portions):

• 1/2 tbsp butter;
• 1/2 tbsp sliced onions;
• 1 pinch red chilli flakes;
• About 10 coriander seeds crushed;
• Few lovage seeds;
• 1 clove of garlic, sliced;
• Half whole calamari thinly sliced, roughly 1tbsp (tentacles would be perfect for this dish);
• 1 tsp minced carrot;
• 1 medium tomato in small dices;
• 2cups of water;
• 5-10g dark chocolate, I used a 75% chocolate from Trinidad;
• Salt.

Method:
In a little pot, sweat the onions in the melting butter. Add the chill flakes, the coriander and the lovage seeds, stirring and letting infuse for roughly 5 minutes; add then the garlic and the calamari. Let the calamari cook thoroughly and toast a bit without letting the garlic burn though! Now add the carrot and the diced tomato, seeds and all (if you wish, you can skin the tomato as explained here).
Stir the base until the tomato starts to break down, add then the water and cook at a simmer till the mixture will be reduced to 1/2.
Out of the fire, add 5g of chocolate roughly chopped and whisk till nicely melt. Season it with salt and add a little bit extra chocolate if needed.

To decorate you can little tidbits of grilled calamari and some chocolate. 

Verdict? The soup is quite rich and tasty. The chocolate gives most of its body and bitter notes. The calamari contribute to the sweet notes on the dish and the aromatic base of the soup make the bite complex and reassuring. It would be a great way to start a rich meal.