El Farol Fried Calamari Recipes

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.

FRIED CALAMARI

Steps:

• Check calamari for breaks and slice into 1/8- to 1/4-inch rings.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place 2 cups flour in a bowl. Whisk milk and eggs together in a separate bowl. Place remaining 4 cups flour, cornstarch, paprika, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a third bowl; mix thoroughly.
• Toss calamari rings in the plain flour. Move to the egg mixture and thoroughly coat. Move to the seasoned flour and coat fully. Move back to egg mixture if not thoroughly coated; coat with seasoned flour again.
• Submerge floured calamari in the hot oil until golden, 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Lift out with a slotted spoon, letting oil drip off. Drain on paper towels. Place calamari in a small bowl; check seasoning. Add parsley and lemon wedge for garnish.

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.

BUFFALO CALAMARI

Steps:

• Combine flour, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper in a resealable plastic bag and shake to combine. Add calamari and make sure all pieces are coated.
• Heat oil in a frying pan over medium to medium-high heat to 395 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• While oil heats, combine tomatoes, onion, and celery in a bowl. Set tomato relish aside.
• Shake excess flour from calamari and drop calamari into the hot oil in batches. Fry until golden brown, about 1 minute per batch. Drain on paper towels. Transfer cooked calamari to a serving plate.
• Top with crumbled blue cheese, blue cheese salad dressing, hot sauce, and a sprinkling of tomato relish.

EL FAROL FRIED CALAMARI

Steps:

• Cut the calamari bodies into 1/4 inch rings and remove the tentacles. Put rings and tentacles in the milk and stir in the parsley. Allow to marinate for 2 to 3 hours in the refrigerator.
• Heat the oil to about 350 degrees or until a cube of bread turns golden brown in about 12 seconds when placed in hot oil. Remove calamari from milk and discard the milk. Toss calamari with the rice flour until well-coated; transfer to a bowl and toss with the eggs until well-coated. Sprinkle with a little bit of the salt and all of the black pepper. Transfer to another bowl and toss with the bread crumbs until well coated and dry enough to separate each piece. Add more bread crumbs if needed.
• Fry in batches in hot oil 20 to 30 seconds or until light brown and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon. Do not overcook. Transfer to paper towels and sprinkle with kosher salt. Serve with Lemon-Caper Aioli and Romesco Sauce for dipping (recipes follow); garnish with wedges of lime.
• Lemon-Caper Aioli: makes 2 cups.
• Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend well. Lemon-Caper Aioli keeps for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator, when kept in a jar with a tight lid.
• Romesco sauce:makes 4 cups, can be used with anything.
• Char the red bell peppers over an open flame, on a gas or charcoal grill, or in an oven broiler until the peppers are blackened on all sides. Remove most of the skin and seeds from the peppers.
• In a blender or food processor, purée the almonds, garlic, oil, vinegar, and chiles until smooth. Add peppers, replace the top, and pulse until the sauce is just a bit chunky. Salt to taste. This sauce will keep for 4 to 5 days if refrigerated.

FRIED CALAMARI

Steps:

• Clean the calamari and cut the bodies into thick rings, reserving the tentacles separately.
• Mix the milk and lemon juice in a large bowl. Let rest for 5 minutes until it thickens. Add the garlic hot sauce. Add the calamari and soak in the buttermilk for up to 4 hours.
• In a bowl, mix the flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, paprika and cayenne. Beat the eggs in another bowl.
• Remove the calamari from the buttermilk and drain. Dip into the beaten egg, and then the flour mixture.
• Fill a heavy skillet with 2 cups vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat to 360 degrees F, or set a deep fryer to 360 degrees F. Fry the calamari, in batches, until brown and crispy, about 4 minutes. Place on a plate and pat dry any excess oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve with the Puttanesca Dipping Sauce and lemon wedges.
• Puttanesca Dipping Sauce:.
• Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and saute for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, anchovies, olives, capers and tomatoes. Saute for another 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and chile flakes. (Add a little water if it's too thick.) Stir in the parsley and lemon zest.