CALAMARI
FRIED SQUID - KALAMARAKIA

Fried squid or Calamari is one of the most popular Greek meals, and most Greek tavernas in the summer time will have this fried fish recipe on their menu. There is nothing more appetizing that the aroma of freshly caught fried squid, and a plate of the golden kalamari rings with a wedge of lemon and a Greek Salad, eaten outdoors is the best Greek Summer Food.

Small squid are always more tender than the larger ones, so try to find it, otherwise large squid will do.

Ingredients

1 kg small squid
50-75g plain flour
olive oil or sunflower oil, for frying
salt and black pepper
1 lemon

Preparation

Clean the squid thoroughly.
Pull the tentacles off and retain, and clean the squid body inside and out. Drain.
Slice the bodies into 3-4cm wide rings.
Put the flour in a large sandwich plastic bag and season the flour with salt and pepper.
Add the body and tentacles to the flour, in batches, and toss until they are all completely coated in flour.
Shake off any excess flour and place on a plate.
Add enough oil to a large frying pan to come half way up the squid rings.
Heat the oil until very hot.
Add the squid to the pan in batches, making sure the rings keep their shape.
Fry until crisp and golden.
Turn over and fry again on that side.
It only takes a few minutes to cook on each side, so be careful that they don't get burnt.
Remove from pan and place on kitchen paper to remove any excess oil.
Repeat with remaining batches.
Serve with wedges of lemon.

If you can only find large squid, prepare a mixture of 1 egg beaten with some milk and soak the squid rings in this for at least 15 minutes.
This will tenderise the squid and you will have beautiful melt in your mouth calamari.
After soaking in the egg mixture, shake off excess liquid and dip in the bag of flour.