Ideal for a taste of the sea at home…
Here at IDEAL we’re suckers for seafood, especially fried squid. Give us a crisp cluster of calamari on a plate and we’re happy chappies. Whilst we could, of course, go out and eat at our favourite restaurants serving squid, there’s also something pretty special about making your own. With that in mind, our friends at Waitrose have shared this recipe for calamari with garlic and salt to satisfy our calamari cravings.
- Preparation time: 20 minutes + 2 hours drying time
- Cooking time: 10 minutes
- Total time: 30 minutes + 2 hours drying time
- Serves: 4
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
FOR THE CHILLI SALT
1 red Thai chilli, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 small garlic clove, peeled
3 tbsp sea salt flakes
FOR THE CALAMARI
350g squid
½ x 284ml tub buttermilk
Vegetable oil for deep frying
50g plain flour
50g corn flour
TO SERVE
Lemon wedges
Garlic mayonnaise
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
1. First, make the chilli salt. Put the chilli and garlic into a pestle and mortar with half of the salt. Pound together until you have a bright red paste and there are no whole pieces of chilli left. Stir in the remaining salt then spread out on a large plate and leave to dry for about 2 hours.
2. Meanwhile, slice the squid into thin rings and combine with the buttermilk in a large bowl. Cover and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. In a deep pan, preheat the oil for deep frying to 180°C. Combine the flours in a large bowl and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Drain the squid from the buttermilk, shaking off any excess, then dredge in the seasoned flour. Fry in the oil in batches for 2 minutes until golden brown, then drain on kitchen paper. Season with the chilli salt and serve with lemon wedges and garlic mayonnaise.
