Flash Fried Squid Food

FLASH FRIED SQUID

Steps:

• Prepare gremolata: In a small bowl, combine the parsley, horseradish, and lemon zest; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, paprika, salt, pepper, and cayenne; set aside.
• To cook the squid, heat 2 inches of oil to 375 degrees in a straight-sided pot. Be sure not to fill your pot more than halfway up the side with oil, because it will foam during frying.
• Pat the squid dry, and toss in the seasoned flour mixture to coat. Let stand 1 minute. Shake the floured squid in a sieve to remove any excess flour. Fry in batches, without crowding, until golden brown, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Drain the squid on paper towels. (Frying a batch of squid will bring the temperature of the oil down. Be sure to reheat the oil in between batches and check the temperature again with a deep-fry thermometer before adding more squid.)
• Season squid with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the gremolata over squid. Serve immediately with aioli and lemon wedges.

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.

SZECHUAN PEPPERED CALAMARI (SALT AND PEPPER SQUID)

Steps:

• If you got whole squid, clean them first: gently pull the head and tentacles away from the body, then pull out the backbone (quill, aka cuttlebone) from inside the body and discard it and the intestines and ink sac; cut the tentacles from the head just below the eyes and discard head; remove membrane/skin from body.
• (How you cut up the squid at this point is a matter of preference, but here's how I like it.).
• Cut the larger tentacles away from the smaller ones, so that you get some single tentacles in the mix.
• Pull or cut the wings away from the body.
• Cut the body down the center so that you can open the two sides up flat, then make strips that are between 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide and about 1 to 1 1/2 inch long; you can also cut the body into 1/4-inch wide tubes, if you like.
• Rinse all the cut pieces, tentacles, and wings well in a sieve, and let drain.
• In a dry skillet, roast the peppercorns over medium high heat until they begin to smoke; remove from heat, let cool, then use a mortar and pestle or other grinder (I use a coffee grinder) to make into a fine powder.
• In a bowl, mix together the flour, salt, cayenne, garlic powder, and powdered peppercorns.
• Add the drained squid pieces, and toss or stir well with your hand to coat them well, shaking off excess.
• Heat oil in a hot wok or deep heavy pan until very hot (the surface should seem to simmer slightly - you can test it with a single piece to see if it's not enough), then deep fry the squid in batches for 1 to 2 minutes until tender and beginning to turn golden. Do not overcook or your cooked squid will turn rubbery -- blech.
• Remove with a slotted spoon and let drain on paper towels.
• Serve immediately with dipping sauce - we like garlic chile sauce, but cocktail sauce or aioli is nice, too.

CALAMARI SPECIAL

Steps:

• Firstly, prepare a deep-fryer with a good vegetable oil and heat to 375 degrees F, or use a medium size deep frying pan on high heat.
• Defrost calamari and rinse under cold running water.
• Cut calamari into 1/4 inch strips. If using fresh calamari, just cut into 1/4 inch strips. Pat dry calamari with paper towels.
• In a medium size mixing bowl, mix together flour and Panko bread crumbs.
• Add milk to a bowl and dip calamari in the milk.
• Toss calamari strips in flour/crumb mixture just to coat. You do not want to have a heavy coating as it could drop off when frying.
• Flash fry coated calamari in prepared deep-fryer or frying pan for about 15 seconds, deep frying in small amounts.
• In a frying pan, heat 1/2 cup of vegetable oil to medium-high heat.
• Add garlic and Sambal Oelek and stir well, cover with a screen to prevent oil from spattering or splashing.
• Sauté flash-fried calamari for about 1 minute or until nicely light brown. Do not over fry as it could get chewy.
• Serve calamari with your favorite dip.