Recipe: Fried Calamari, Two Ways with Garlic-Chipotle Chile Mayonnaise
Appetizers and SnacksFRIED CALAMARI, TWO WAYS
"You may think frying calamari at home is too hard-it's such a restaurant dish-but actually, it's easy and delicious. Here are two recipes: one for a quick beer batter that makes the calamari pieces crisp and slightly puffy in a neat kind of way (the batter is just as good for other fried fillets and shellfish, too) and a simple variation where you merely flour the pieces. I would definitely serve one of these as an hors d'oeuvre at any easygoing dinner party, when I look forward to my guests making an occasional foray into the kitchen as I fry them."
BEER BATTER DIPPED CALAMARI
Vegetable oil for frying
I 1/2 pounds cleaned calamari, including some tentacles
One (12 ounce) can beer
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 /4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika, preferably Hungarian sweet paprika
Freshly ground white or black pepper to taste
Chili powder to taste (optional)
FOR SERVING, OPTIONAL:
Lime wedges
Garlic-Chipotle Chile Mayonnaise (recipe follows)
Pour the vegetable oil into a deep pot, filling it by no more than half but at least 3-inches deep, and begin heating the oil over low heat. Or set your electric fryer to 400 degrees F. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. (No, that's not a mistake.)
Rinse and drain the calamari and lay them on sheets of paper towels, pressing and blotting them dry with another sheet laid on top. Cut the bodies into 1/2-inch rings and cut the tentacles in half, or quarters if they're large. Set them aside or refrigerate them if the kitchen is hot.
Pour the beer into a large mixing bowl.
Measure 1 1/4 cups flour by the "dip and sweep" method. (Dip a 1-cup nesting type measuring cup into the flour to overflowing-don't jiggle or shake the cup after it's been filled or it will change the measurement-and sweep off the excess with a metal spatula or the blunt edge of a straight-sided knife, keeping one edge in contact with the measuring cup as you sweep across the top. Repeat this procedure with a 1/4-cup measure.) Gradually whisk the measured flour, baking powder, salt, paprika, and a generous amount of pepper into the beer to make a smooth, somewhat thick, batter. Set the batter aside at room temperature until the oil is hot.
If using a conventional pot, turn the heat to medium-high until the oil reaches 400 degrees F on a frying thermometer or a pinch of flour makes sputtering noises and moves rapidly around the surface. (If the oil is too hot, it will begin to smoke and the flour will brown too quickly. Turn down the heat and try the flour test again in a few minutes. If the flour just kind of lays there, the oil is too cool. Continue heating the oil for a few more minutes.)
While the oil is heating, dry the calamari pieces again on paper towels. Line 1 or 2 large cookie sheets, or other ovenproof trays, with layers of paper towels and set them near the stove.
Stir the calamari pieces into the batter so that each piece is well coated. Lifting out a few pieces at a time, let the excess batter drip back into the bowl, and drop the pieces one by one into the hot oil. (The key is not to crowd the pieces and to keep the oil hot. If you fry too many at a time, the oil will cool down quickly and the batter will stay pale, soft, and soggy. It's better to take a couple of extra minutes to fry them carefully or you'll be disappointed with the result.) If the oil is hot enough, the pieces will pop up to the surface and begin to brown-if the oil is too hot, they'll brown too quickly. Raise or lower the temperature of the heat accordingly. Fry them for less than a minute, until they're light to medium golden, turning them over once. Remove them from the oil with a slotted metal spoon and drain them in a single layer on the prepared cookie sheet(s). Remove and discard the cooked batter droplets from the oil between batches to keep them from burning and sticking to the freshly battered calamari. (I keep a separate plate covered with a paper towel next to the fryer for these cooked droplets; when I'm finished frying, I just dump the towel into the garbage.) Continue frying the rest of the calamari, being sure to allow the oil to come back up to the proper temperature between batches.
When all the calamari have been fried, place the cookie sheet(s) in the very hot oven for 2 to 3 minutes to reheat and recrisp the pieces. Remove the sheet(s) from the oven and sprinkle the calamari with the chili powder, if desired.
TO SERVE:
Mound the calamari on warm dinner plates, garnish each plate with 1 or 2 lime wedges if you like, and serve right away, with the Garlic-Chipotle Chile Mayonnaise, if you're using it, on the side.
VARIATION: SIMPLY FLOURED CALAMARI
You'll need 2 1/2 pounds of cleaned calamari for 4 people. Rinse, cut, and dry the calamari pieces.
Set yourself up as in the batter-dipped recipe: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Heat the oil to 400 degrees F; and prepare 1 or 2 paper towel lined cookie sheets.
Place a generous amount of flour in a Ziploc-type plastic bag and season the flour generously with salt and pepper. Drop about a third of the calamari into the bag as loosely as possible. With the top of the bag tightly closed, shake it up and down, squeezing the sides to coat the pieces. After that, it's a good idea to put your hand inside the bag to give them a final toss and insure that they're well coated and not glopped together! Lift all the pieces out of the flour, shaking them to remove excess flour, and place them in a colander set inside a larger bowl-it's easier to grab a few at a time this way.
Pick up a small handful, shake them off again, and drop them into the hot oil, trying to let the pieces fall in as separately as possible. It's important not to crowd them in the oil so the temperature stays hot. The pieces will be very pale gold and just cooked in 30 to 60 seconds.
Drain them in a single layer on the prepared cookie sheet(s) and keep frying the remaining pieces in the same manner.
When all the pieces have been fried, reheat them in the very hot oven for 2 to 4 minutes.
Lightly sprinkle them with salt, and chili powder if you like, and serve them with the lime wedges and Garlic-Chipotle Chile Mayonnaise, if desired.
GARLIC-CHIPOTLE CHILE MAYONNAISE
6 tablespoons store-bought or homemade mayonnaise
4 teaspoons finely chopped roasted garlic (or 2 teaspoons finely chopped roasted garlic plus 4 teaspoons oil from roasting; or 2 generous teaspoons very finely chopped fresh garlic)
Grated zest of 1 lime (no bitter white pith)
4 teaspoons fresh squeezed lime juice
Optional: 2 teaspoons finely chopped chipotle chile with a little sauce from the can (look for chile chipotles en adobo sauce)
Salt and freshly ground black or white pepper to taste
Place the mayonnaise in a small mixing bowl and stir in the roasted or fresh garlic, the roasted garlic olive oil, if you're using it, and the lime zest and juice. Stir in the chipotle chile, if you're using it. Season the mayo with salt and a generous amount of pepper. Set it aside while you fry the calamari, as in the preceding recipe, or cover and refrigerate it for up to 2 weeks.
Makes 4 servings
Source: Great Fish Quick by Leslie Revsin
"You may think frying calamari at home is too hard-it's such a restaurant dish-but actually, it's easy and delicious. Here are two recipes: one for a quick beer batter that makes the calamari pieces crisp and slightly puffy in a neat kind of way (the batter is just as good for other fried fillets and shellfish, too) and a simple variation where you merely flour the pieces. I would definitely serve one of these as an hors d'oeuvre at any easygoing dinner party, when I look forward to my guests making an occasional foray into the kitchen as I fry them."
BEER BATTER DIPPED CALAMARI
Vegetable oil for frying
I 1/2 pounds cleaned calamari, including some tentacles
One (12 ounce) can beer
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 /4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika, preferably Hungarian sweet paprika
Freshly ground white or black pepper to taste
Chili powder to taste (optional)
FOR SERVING, OPTIONAL:
Lime wedges
Garlic-Chipotle Chile Mayonnaise (recipe follows)
Pour the vegetable oil into a deep pot, filling it by no more than half but at least 3-inches deep, and begin heating the oil over low heat. Or set your electric fryer to 400 degrees F. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. (No, that's not a mistake.)
Rinse and drain the calamari and lay them on sheets of paper towels, pressing and blotting them dry with another sheet laid on top. Cut the bodies into 1/2-inch rings and cut the tentacles in half, or quarters if they're large. Set them aside or refrigerate them if the kitchen is hot.
Pour the beer into a large mixing bowl.
Measure 1 1/4 cups flour by the "dip and sweep" method. (Dip a 1-cup nesting type measuring cup into the flour to overflowing-don't jiggle or shake the cup after it's been filled or it will change the measurement-and sweep off the excess with a metal spatula or the blunt edge of a straight-sided knife, keeping one edge in contact with the measuring cup as you sweep across the top. Repeat this procedure with a 1/4-cup measure.) Gradually whisk the measured flour, baking powder, salt, paprika, and a generous amount of pepper into the beer to make a smooth, somewhat thick, batter. Set the batter aside at room temperature until the oil is hot.
If using a conventional pot, turn the heat to medium-high until the oil reaches 400 degrees F on a frying thermometer or a pinch of flour makes sputtering noises and moves rapidly around the surface. (If the oil is too hot, it will begin to smoke and the flour will brown too quickly. Turn down the heat and try the flour test again in a few minutes. If the flour just kind of lays there, the oil is too cool. Continue heating the oil for a few more minutes.)
While the oil is heating, dry the calamari pieces again on paper towels. Line 1 or 2 large cookie sheets, or other ovenproof trays, with layers of paper towels and set them near the stove.
Stir the calamari pieces into the batter so that each piece is well coated. Lifting out a few pieces at a time, let the excess batter drip back into the bowl, and drop the pieces one by one into the hot oil. (The key is not to crowd the pieces and to keep the oil hot. If you fry too many at a time, the oil will cool down quickly and the batter will stay pale, soft, and soggy. It's better to take a couple of extra minutes to fry them carefully or you'll be disappointed with the result.) If the oil is hot enough, the pieces will pop up to the surface and begin to brown-if the oil is too hot, they'll brown too quickly. Raise or lower the temperature of the heat accordingly. Fry them for less than a minute, until they're light to medium golden, turning them over once. Remove them from the oil with a slotted metal spoon and drain them in a single layer on the prepared cookie sheet(s). Remove and discard the cooked batter droplets from the oil between batches to keep them from burning and sticking to the freshly battered calamari. (I keep a separate plate covered with a paper towel next to the fryer for these cooked droplets; when I'm finished frying, I just dump the towel into the garbage.) Continue frying the rest of the calamari, being sure to allow the oil to come back up to the proper temperature between batches.
When all the calamari have been fried, place the cookie sheet(s) in the very hot oven for 2 to 3 minutes to reheat and recrisp the pieces. Remove the sheet(s) from the oven and sprinkle the calamari with the chili powder, if desired.
TO SERVE:
Mound the calamari on warm dinner plates, garnish each plate with 1 or 2 lime wedges if you like, and serve right away, with the Garlic-Chipotle Chile Mayonnaise, if you're using it, on the side.
VARIATION: SIMPLY FLOURED CALAMARI
You'll need 2 1/2 pounds of cleaned calamari for 4 people. Rinse, cut, and dry the calamari pieces.
Set yourself up as in the batter-dipped recipe: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Heat the oil to 400 degrees F; and prepare 1 or 2 paper towel lined cookie sheets.
Place a generous amount of flour in a Ziploc-type plastic bag and season the flour generously with salt and pepper. Drop about a third of the calamari into the bag as loosely as possible. With the top of the bag tightly closed, shake it up and down, squeezing the sides to coat the pieces. After that, it's a good idea to put your hand inside the bag to give them a final toss and insure that they're well coated and not glopped together! Lift all the pieces out of the flour, shaking them to remove excess flour, and place them in a colander set inside a larger bowl-it's easier to grab a few at a time this way.
Pick up a small handful, shake them off again, and drop them into the hot oil, trying to let the pieces fall in as separately as possible. It's important not to crowd them in the oil so the temperature stays hot. The pieces will be very pale gold and just cooked in 30 to 60 seconds.
Drain them in a single layer on the prepared cookie sheet(s) and keep frying the remaining pieces in the same manner.
When all the pieces have been fried, reheat them in the very hot oven for 2 to 4 minutes.
Lightly sprinkle them with salt, and chili powder if you like, and serve them with the lime wedges and Garlic-Chipotle Chile Mayonnaise, if desired.
GARLIC-CHIPOTLE CHILE MAYONNAISE
6 tablespoons store-bought or homemade mayonnaise
4 teaspoons finely chopped roasted garlic (or 2 teaspoons finely chopped roasted garlic plus 4 teaspoons oil from roasting; or 2 generous teaspoons very finely chopped fresh garlic)
Grated zest of 1 lime (no bitter white pith)
4 teaspoons fresh squeezed lime juice
Optional: 2 teaspoons finely chopped chipotle chile with a little sauce from the can (look for chile chipotles en adobo sauce)
Salt and freshly ground black or white pepper to taste
Place the mayonnaise in a small mixing bowl and stir in the roasted or fresh garlic, the roasted garlic olive oil, if you're using it, and the lime zest and juice. Stir in the chipotle chile, if you're using it. Season the mayo with salt and a generous amount of pepper. Set it aside while you fry the calamari, as in the preceding recipe, or cover and refrigerate it for up to 2 weeks.
Makes 4 servings
Source: Great Fish Quick by Leslie Revsin
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