Exotic Cuisine: Frittura Di Calamari

During the summer months in Italy, there is one dish that you cannot escape whether lunching seaside or dining in your local piazza. It’s the staple of summer fish dishes and I must admit, I can’t get enough… Frittura Di Calamari! I have it on every trip to the seaside, served in a brown paper cone with some lemon on the side. It’s the perfect balance between comfort food and succulent cuisine, and there really is nothing I love more.

I found this recipe which has an added Asian twist on the classic Italian recipe, but if you want to make the original recipe, just take out the spring onion, use lemon instead of soy sauce and parsley instead of coriander.

Ingredients:

Squid (thoroughly cleaned)
Oil for deep frying. (You can use sunflower, but don’t use olive oil as it is too heavy.)
Corn flour
Spring onions
Coriander
Soy Sauce
Salt
Pepper

Instructions:

Cut the squid into 1.5cm rings, leaving the tentacles as they are. If they are huge, then you can cut them in half lengthways. To get the crispiest and nicest squid possible, blot them dry with a kitchen towel – the drier the squid before frying, the better!

Fill a deep pan with enough oil to cover all your squid. Season the squid rings with some pepper and a tiny bit of salt. Chop the spring onions and the coriander and leave on the side.

The following steps are crucial!

1. Heat your oil up. You can test the temperature by putting in a bit of uncooked potato. When it rises to the top and starts bubbling, then the oil is at the right temperature.

2. When the oil is hot enough, cover the calamari with corn flour and mix well until it is completely covered. Only flour them the second before frying. If you are frying them in two batches then hold off with the corn flour until you are ready to fry.

3. Drop the calamari carefully into the hot oil, remembering to put them in away from you to avoid splashing yourself.

4. On a serving plate, put some brown paper or 2-3 pages of newspaper.

5. After a maximum of five minutes your calamari should be cooked and super crispy. You can stir the oil occasionally (and carefully!) with a wooden spoon – you’ll be able to feel when they are crisp enough.

6. Drain the squid and place them on the paper to mop up any excess oil.

7. Repeat with the other batches.

Throw the spring onion, the coriander and a bit of the salt on the squid and mix well.

Serving suggestions:
Make a cone out of your brown paper or newspaper and fill it with your calamari. Lay it down on a chopping board and serve with a little pot of soy sauce or lemon.

For a more elegant presentation, fill this Small Aluminum Oval Bowl with the dipping sauce and ENJOY!