Fried Calamari with Lemon Aioli

A classic dinner. Salt and pepper fried calamari with a luscious lemon aioli.

Fried Calamari with Lemon Aioli

HANDS-ON TIME 25 min | TOTAL TIME 30 min | SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

Lemon aioli

• 1 ½ cups whole-egg mayonnaise
• 2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Fried calamari

• ⅓ cup flour
• 1 ½ tsp sea salt flakes
• 1 ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 2 kilograms baby calamari, cleaned, hoods sliced into rings
• 80 grams rocket
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 250 grams baby Lebanese cucumbers, thinly shaved lengthways
• 1 lemon, halved

METHOD

Lemon aioli

COMBINE ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Salt & pepper  fried calamari

COMBINE flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl.

FILL a large wok one-third full with oil. Heat to 180°C (or until a cube of bread turns golden in 10 seconds).

WORKING in batches, toss calamari in flour mixture, shaking off any excess. Fry calamari for 2 minutes or until golden and just tender. Drain on paper towel.

COMBINE rocket, onion and cucumber in a serving bowl. Serve calamari with salad, lemon aioli and lemon halves.

Tip from the team: For a gluten-free option, use gluten-free flour instead of plain flour for your fried calamari.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• Lemon aioli
• 1 ½ cups whole-egg mayonnaise
• 2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Fried calamari
• ⅓ cup flour
• 1 ½ tsp sea salt flakes
• 1 ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 2 kilograms baby calamari, cleaned, hoods sliced into rings
• 80 grams rocket
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 250 grams baby Lebanese cucumbers, thinly shaved lengthways
• 1 lemon, halved

Instructions

Lemon aioli

1

COMBINE ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Salt & pepper calamari

2

COMBINE flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl.

3

FILL a large wok one-third full with oil. Heat to 180°C (or until a cube of bread turns golden in 10 seconds).

4

WORKING in batches, toss calamari in flour mixture, shaking off any excess. Fry calamari for 2 minutes or until golden and just tender. Drain on paper towel.

5

COMBINE rocket, onion and cucumber in a serving bowl. Serve calamari with salad, lemon aioli and lemon halves.

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Sjaan Van der Ploeg

Sjaan is a food stylist and recipe developer for Food & Home. She aims to create mouth-watering images and exciting How To videos on our Instagram, hoping to inspire people to try new recipes and have fun in the kitchen.