California Grande Calamari Food

FRIED CALAMARI

Steps:

• Pour enough oil into a heavy large saucepan to reach the depth of 3 inches. Heat over medium heat to 350 degrees F. Mix the flour, parsley, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Working in small batches, toss the squid into the flour mixture to coat. Carefully add the squid to the oil and fry until crisp and very pale golden, about 1 minute per batch. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the fried calamari to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.
• Place the fried calamari and lemon wedges on a clean plate. Sprinkle with salt. Serve with the marinara sauce.
• In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
• Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
• If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

CALAMARI FRITTI

Steps:

• Rinse the squid under cool water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut the body of the squid into 1/2-inch rings and trim the tentacles as necessary. Combine the milk, egg, and basil leaves in a bowl; mix with a fork until lightly beaten. Put the prepared calamari in the milk mixture and stick it in the refrigerator while getting everything else set up; it fries better if marinated and chilled for about 15 minutes.
• Pour about 2 inches of oil in a fryer or large, heavy pot and heat to 375 degrees F. Mix the flour and paprika in a pie dish or plate; season with a fair amount of salt and pepper. Toss the calamari in the seasoned flour to coat. Fry for 1 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and salt, to taste. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried calamari to paper towels to drain. Serve immediately with lemon wedges and dipping sauces.
• Smoked Jalapeno Aioli:
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 to 2 canned chipotle chile in adobo
• 1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Pinch salt
• Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend for 1 minute to combine. Set aside to allow the flavors to marry. Serve as a dipping sauce with fried calamari.
• Yield: 1 cup
• Tomato-Basil Sauce:
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 fresh basil leaves, hand-torn
• 1 (16-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• Pinch sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Coat a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of the oil and warm over medium heat. Add the garlic and basil; cook, stirring, until soft. Add the crushed tomatoes and sugar; season with salt and pepper. Simmer the sauce for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the remaining olive oil. Serve as a dipping sauce with fried calamari.
• Yield: 2 cups

CALIFORNIA GRANDE CALAMARI

Steps:

• Lay strips of Monterey Jack cheese, green chiles and red chiles in the center of each Grande Calamari fillet.
• Roll steak into a tube shape, securing with toothpicks or string.
• Dip into egg, then dredge through breading.
• Heat oil to 350°.
• Deep fry until golden brown, approximately 4 minutes.
• Pat off excess oil with paper towels and serve hot.

FRIED CALAMARI

Steps:

• Add the oil to a wide pan and heat to about 325 degrees F. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Pat the calamari dry with paper towels.
• Combine the flour and cayenne pepper. Working in batches, toss 1/3 of the calamari in the seasoned flour. Transfer the calamari to a mesh strainer and shake off the excess flour.
• Carefully drop the calamari into the hot oil; the oil should bubble gently and the calamari should have plenty of room to swim around and fry gently. Do not crowd the pan or the oil won't come back up to temperature quickly. When done, the calamari should be very pale golden and tender. It should not look like little brown rubber bands. Remove the calamari from the hot oil and drain it on paper towels. Salt it immediately and keep it warm in the oven until all the calamari is done.
• Repeat in 2 more batches with the remaining calamari.
• Serve with lemon wedges.

FRIED CALAMARI

Steps:

• Thoroughly pat the squid dry with paper towels. Slice the bodies into 1/2-inch-thick rings and lay on a paper towel-lined baking sheet along with the tentacles; pat completely dry.
• Fill a large saucepan halfway with vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350˚F. Whisk the flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss the squid in the flour to coat. Transfer the squid to a plate, shaking off any excess flour.
• Working in batches, fry the squid in the hot oil until golden, about 2 minutes. Drain on clean paper towels.
• Serve the squid with warm marinara sauce and lemon wedges.

CALAMARI

Steps:

• Preheat oil in a heavy, deep frying pan or pot. Oil should be heated to 365 degrees F (180 degrees C).
• In a medium size mixing bowl mix together flour, salt, oregano and black pepper. Dredge squid through flour and spice mixture.
• Place squid in oil for 2 to 3 minutes or until light brown. Beware of overcooking, squid will be tough if overcooked. Dry squid on paper towels. Serve with wedges of lemon.