1.5 kg whole calamari
Vegetable or canola oil,
for deep-frying
150 gm (1 cup) plain flour
(see note)
1 cup (loosely packed)
flat-leaf parsley
Lime wedges, to serve
CHILLI AÏOLI
8 long red chillies, halved
and seeds removed
4 garlic cloves
250 ml (1 cup) mild olive
oil or canola oil
2 large egg yolks
Juice of 1 lemon
1 For chilli aïoli, combine
chillies, garlic and oil in a
small saucepan and cook over
medium-low heat until deep
golden(12-16 minutes).Transfer
chilli and garlic to a mortar
with a slotted spoon to cool,
and leave oil in pan to cool
completely (1-1½ hours). Add
1 tsp salt flakes to mortar with
chilli and garlic and pound to
a coarse paste with a pestle.
Transfer to a bowl and stir in
egg yolks and lemonjuice.
Gradually incorporate cooled
oil, stirring to emulsify.
2 Pull tentacles and innards
from body of calamari (reserve
tentacles). Carefully remove
ink sac from innards (discardinnards) and reserve. Clean
and halve calamari, remove and
discard wings, and peel away
thin skin or rub it off with paper
towels, then cut hoods into
8cm x 2cm strips. If tentacles
are small, keep them whole,
otherwise cut into a few pieces.
3 Place calamari in a bowl,
place a sieve over bowl and
break ink sac into sieve. Toss
calamari in ink with a spoon
until completely black and
refrigerate until required.
4 Heat oil to 180°C in a large,
deep saucepan or a deep-fryer.
Toss calamari through flour,
shaking off excess, and fry
in batches until just cooked
and very light golden-brownCalamari fried in its
ink with chilli aïoli
SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 30 MINS // COOK 35 MINS (PLUS COOLING)
“The idea of marinating calamari in its ink for frying dawned
on me when I was once cleaning squid and accidentally
pierced the ink sac, and ended up with a staining pool on
my chopping board that needed mopping up,” says Moran.
“Apart from the dramatic effect of the dark ink on the flesh,
it also adds a lovely, almost sweet flavour.”
(1-2 minutes; be careful, hot oil
will spit). Remove with a slotted
spoon, drain on paper towels,
season to taste and keep warm.
5 Fry parsley in oil until crisp
(20-30 seconds; be careful,
hot oil will spit), remove with
a slotted spoon and drain on
paper towels. Serve calamari
topped with parsley, and with
chilli aïoli and lime wedges.
NoteSubstitute chickpea
flour for plain flour to make
this calamari gluten-free.
Wine suggestionAn Australian
pinot gris with depth, such as the
2016 Scorpo Pinot Gris from
Mornington Peninsula.➤