Calamares a la Romana is a dish that I’m sure we all discovered whilst holidaying somewhere on the Med and I’m sure we’ve all had good and bad experiences!
I have had some fantastic Calamari and have also had my fair share of chewy, rubbery squid too, but this is a tapa I order all the time in Spain.
Eaten all over Spain Calamares a la Romana even comes in a sandwich (bocadillo de calamares a la romana)! In the Basque country sometimes this tapa is made with cuttlefish and called “rabas” and funnily enough the name means Roman style calamari?
Anyway, this recipe rocks unless of course you prefer your calamari in batter, then just knock up some batter, but this is the way the Spanish do it!
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 400g squid, cleaned and sliced into rings
- 6 heaped tablespoons of plain flour
- Salt and ground black pepper to season the flour
- 1 tsp smoked pimenton (paprika) dulce (optional)
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- Aioli and lemon wedges, to serve
Preparation method:
Wash the squid well and then cut the body into rings approx. 1.5-2cm wide. Slice the wings into strips and cut the tentacles from the head and discard the heads. Put the squid in a bowl with 4 lemon wedges – don’t squeeze the juice from the wedges – and leave to marinate in the fridge for 1 or 2 hours.
In a bowl combine the flour, salt and pepper and pimenton.
When you are ready to cook pour the sunflower oil into your deep fat fryer or a deep saucepan on a medium heat until it is smoking hot. It is very important that the oil is very, very hot. Then dredge nthe squid in the bowl of seasoned flour making sure they are coated thoroughly.
Once the oil is hot put a large handful of squid onto a sieve, slotted spoon or frying basket, lower into the hot oil and fry for about 1 minute or so until it is golden brown. Remove the squid from the oil using a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Fry the remaining squid in the same way but make sure the oil is still very hot.
Be careful not to add too much of the squid to the fryer at one time as this will cause the oil to cool too much and the flour will absorb too much of the oil.
Serve as a Tapa with lemon wedges and Aioli!
Enjoy!