How to Make Fried Calamari
Fried Calamari is one of the most popular Italian antipasto dishes ordered in restaurants over the world. But what many don’t know is how super simple they are to make. My fried calamari are deliciously crispy, with a salty tang and with the perfect squeeze of lemon really is a divine way to start off your meal. This fried calamari recipe uses semolina and lemon marinade which make all the difference to the crunch and zest! Once you’ve tried this recipe, you’ll likely never order it again – the restaurants just won’t compare!
Watch Fried Calamari video recipe:
FRIED CALAMARI RECIPE | How to Make Crispy Fried Calamari
Vincenzo’s Top Tip To Make Fried Calamari
Make sure the calamari is dry before frying
This will help the coating stick better and prevent splattering when frying.
Don’t overcrowd the pan
Fry the calamari in batches to ensure it cooks evenly and stays crispy.
Fried Calamari
Equipment
- Medium stainless steel fry pan or small deep fryer
- 2 Medium size mixing bowls
- Chopping-board
- Scissors
- Sharp knife
- Tablespoon
- Deep fryer or medium fry pan
Ingredients
- Sunflower or vegetable oil
- 3-4 Freshly cleaned calamari including tentacles
- 1 cup Flour
- 1 cup Semolina
- 3 tsp Fresh parsley or Dried parsley
- 1-2 Lemons
- Free range egg mayonnaise
- Sriracha sauce
- Lemon
- Parsley
Instructions
- Fried calamari recipe starts with good quality oil for frying. Pour a generous amount of sunflower oil into a medium size stainless steel fry pan and leave to heat up to approx. 180 degrees celcius / 356F.
- While the oil is heating up, cut the calamari on a chopping board, while they are lying flat, or use scissors for extra ease.
- Cut up the tentacles too, just in half or thirds dependent how big they are and put them into a mixing bowl.
- This fried calamiari is so easy, by the time your oil is at the right temperature, the calamari rings will be ready!
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the flour and semolina, along with 3 teaspoons of parsley.
- Next, add salt and pepper to season and mix dry ingredients together really well.
- My fried calamari recipe has a few extra touches, and this one is my favourite! Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the calamari along with a sprinkle of parsley and mix it through so it marinates them. This gives them extra zesty flavour and softens them slightly too!
- Once you have let the calamari marinate for a few minutes, transfer them, draining them slightly, into your bowl of dry ingredients.
- Mix them around until each piece of calamari is completely covered and doesn’t feel wet, again, leaving them for a couple of minutes to set.
- Once the oil is ready, you should place the calamari pieces into a strainer and dust off the excess flour gently so there is not too much left in the oil.
- Transfer the calamari to the oil and leave to fry for 1-1.5 minutes.
- Once the calamari have started to crisp up and brown, strain them from the oil and transfer them over to crushed baking paper or paper towels to get rid of any excess oil.
- HOW TO MAKE THE DIPPING SAUCE:
- This fried calamari recipe calls for some delicious dipping sauce and I have a simple one.
- Mix mayonnaise, sriracha sauce, a squeeze of lemon and sprinkle of parsley together and mix well.
- Leave to set until you’re ready to serve. This can be prepared ahead of time even before you make the fried calamari recipe.
- E ora si mangia, Vincenzo’s Plate….Enjoy!
Video
How to serve Fried Calamari
Prepare a plate with some crinkled up baking paper and serve these easy to make fried calamari alongside the delicious dipping sauce.
For the final touch, serve with lemon wedges and each guest can squeeze this over their own serving so the calamari don’t get soggy while they are still in the serving plate!
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Delicious as always, congrats chef, you are amazing.
I’m glad you enjoyed it. I hope you’ll continue to try out other recipes as well.