Feast of the SEven Fishes: Part II
Fried calamari with spicy marinara is definitely a favorite among Jared's family, and this year I witnessed by mother-in-law swat the arm of my father-in-law for the last bite.
This recipe is so easy and so fast, it really should become a year-long staple. At the time of this writing, you can get a pound of it fresh from the Whole Foods seafood counter for $7.99. Believe me, a pound of calamari is ... a lot. Enough for a full meal, honestly. I only purchased half a pound of it for this feast and it did ruin the appetites of folks enough that a break was needed before commencing the rest of the feast.
I always marinate my calamari, although I don't know anyone else who does so it's probably not necessary. But, doing so makes the final product light and chewy instead of rubbery, which calamari can easily become.
This was about half of the calamari I cooked. I had to fight to get a picture of it before it was gobbled up.
Ingredients:
Fresh Calamari - 1/2 to 1 pound
1 lemon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rice flour
1 tsp smoked paprika
Lots of course salt
8-10 ounces avocado oil
1/2 can of tomato sauce, unsalted
1/2 tsp cayenne
2 dashes hot sauce
1/2 tsp each of dried thyme and dried oregano
To Make:
Marinate the Calamari
If you have tubes, rinse and dry, then lay them flat on a cutting board. Slice rings of it approximately 1 inch or less in width.
If you have tentacles, just give them a good rinse to make sure they aren't holding any leftover sand or other grit.
Place rings and tentacles in a ziploc bag or glass bowl (avoid stainless steel! It can cause a chemical reaction that might make your meal taste metallic and bitter).
Squeeze the juice of one half lemon into the bag. Add a few lemon slices as well. Save at least four lemon wedges for serving.
Add 1 tsp of course salt.
Zip it up making sure all pieces are coated in the salt and lemon, then place in the refrigerator for at least an hour before cooking.
Prep Your Fry Station
In a large bowl, put in 2 cups of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of rice flour. Add 1 tsp of course salt and the paprika.
Stir dry mix to ensure all is incorporated evenly.
Heat the avocado oil in a large pan with a high lip on medium-high. (Avocado oil has a very high smoking temperature, which you will need).
Remove calamari from the refrigerator and toss in the dry mix until all pieces are evenly coated.
Make the Sauce
In a small sauce pan, combine all sauce ingredients.
Cook on low-medium until it emits steam but before it boils.
Add salt to taste after flavors have had time to meld, about 10 minutes.
Once you're happy with the sauce, turn off the heat but leave on the burner to keep warm.
Fry the Calamari
You'll know when your oil is ready by this little trick I learned from Jared's mom, Nita. Wet your fingers slightly under the kitchen faucet, and flick a small amount at the oil. If it pops, it's ready. If it doesn't, try again in a few minutes. Generally the oil is ready to fry when you can see it moving along the bottom and pulling from the sides of the pan.
Some people use a pot rather than a pan to fry so the oil is deeper. I like being able to see and control every piece individually, since there’s no such thing uniform pieces of calamari.
Gently place your calamari one at a time in the oil, in batches. Don't overcrowd the pan - you should have about half an inch between each piece at minimum.
Using tongs, turn the pieces to ensure even frying.
When the coating becomes toasty brown and the calamari feels firm on the tongs, it's ready to pull out of the pan. Place them as you pull them out of the pan on a plate with a double-sheet of paper towels on it. Add salt to them as soon as they come out of the fryer. If you wait, the oil will cool and won't grab the salt.
Don’t worry if the pieces don’t come out evenly-browned. The tentacles have a lot more surface area, so they will have more batter on them to brown.
Serve and Eat!
Pour the marinara into a large ramekin for sharing.
Once all the calamari is fried and salted, add to a large bowl or plate.
Place lemon wedges around the calamari plate and encourage guests to squeeze over the calamari if they choose.
Your third fish of the seven fishes meal is complete! Stay tuned for the other four dishes coming this week on the blog!
Bon Appetit!