From the Mediterranean to the South China Sea squid is a popular seafood eaten almost daily. In Spain no self respecting seaside eatery would dare to omit deep fried calamari served with a tomato dip or garlic aioli, whilst further east they like to add a pinch of pepper and spice to heat things up. Our favourite is the definitely piquant "Salt and pepper squid" the pepper referred to of course is the hot Szechuan variety. Here's how it goes...
Serves 4
800g Squid cleaned
2 Tbsp Szechuan Pepper Corns
2 Tsp Chilli flakes
2 Tbsp Sea salt
8 Tbsp plain flour
8 Tbsp Cornflour
Half Tsp Turmeric powder
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Lemon wedges Garnish
Method
Crush together pepper corns, chilli flakes and salt in a pestal and mortar and mix into the flour Slice the squid down one side so that it lies flat and score on the inside into diamond pattern. Cut into bite sized pieces and coat in flour and turmeric. (The turmeric will help turn the deep fried squid into a beautiful golden colour) Heat the oil (To test a pice of bread should go golden brown in 30 seconds) Shake off excess flour and deep fry until golden - about 1 - 2 minutes. Serve with a wedge of lemon and your favourite dip.
Posted by incredibly fed
