Today we are going to talk about a dish that although it´s not just Spanish, and you will find it in many other countries, in Spain is very popular. You will see Spanish fried Calamari everywhere in the Iberian Peninsula. You should also know that the Spanish Fried Calamari Recipe is different than other types of Calamari dishes.
How to make Spanish fried Calamari
Sometimes we want to cook international dishes, but it takes forever. Luckily fried Calamari is one of the easiest recipes you will find in Spain. It will take you just about 30 minutes to make them and it will be totally worth it!! Learn all about How to make Spanish Calamari!
Fried Calamari ingredients
The ingredients for fried calamari you must use are:
- 2 clean tube of squid
- 1 cup of Sunflower Oil
- 1 cup of All-purpose Flour
- A pinch of Sea Salt
- 1 lemon
- Additional: Chopped Fresh Parsley, Smoked Sweet Paprika or Ground Black Pepper
Spanish Fried Calamari Recipe
Here is the best recipe for fried Calamari:
1) In a frying pan add some Sunflower Oil to medium-high heat
2) Clean and run cold water through the squid and rinse out the inside. Pat dry with paper towers.
3) Cut the squid into 1/4-inch-thick rings. Cover them with Flour.
4) Add some of them to the frying pan (don´t overcrowd)
5) Keep them for 1 ½ minutes and take them out into a plate with a paper tower
6) Once you have drained the oil, put them in a new plate.
7) Add salt and lemon (parsley is additional) and serve them!
8) Enjoy your Spanish squid dish!
Other things to know and facts about Spanish Calamari
Now that you know about the fried calamari recipe, it´s time to learn about other Calamari facts. For example: How to eat calamari? What´s the best sauce for fried calamari? Is calamari healthy? and much more…
How to eat Calamari in Spain
As we said Calamari is very typical in Spain, but not everyone eats it the same way. It doesn´t depend on the region of Spain, but on whatever you prefer. Here are the different ways of “How to eat Calamari”:
Spanish Calamari Tapas
Eating Calamari as a tapa is the very common way in Spain. No matter if you go to a restaurant or if you are eating at home, most of the people serve Calamari as a tapa.
A portion or two portions of Calamari is normally enough to share with the family or some friends. Of course, Calamari lovers would prefer a big plate of Calamari as a first dish and just for themselves.
Fried Calamari Sandwich
Less common but it´s still very popular to eat a sandwich of fried calamari, also known as “Bocadillo de Calamares”. It´s as simples as adding calamari into bread roll. Now if you are visiting Madrid you have to try them, as it´s a must when you go to the capital of Spain.
In every single restaurant and terrace of Plaza Mayor they serve these typical Madrid Calamari Sandwiches. You should also know that these special dishes are normally served with a caña (small beer).
It will cost you about 3-5€, and the size is not so bad, so it´s a good recommendation.
Paella with calamari
In this “How to eat Calamari?” list, we can´t forget about the famous “paella with calamari”. As you may know the most famous Spanish dish (la paella) it´s cooked in different ways. One ingredient you can´t miss when doing a seafood paella is the calamari.
Fried calamari salad
The less common way to eat Calamari is in a salad, but there are some people that do it. This salad is normally served with either small tomatoes or red grapes. Some people also add aioli to the fried calamari salad.
How to fry Calamari??
When we are making Spanish fried Calamari, it´s important that we make them crispy. Other than that, if our calamari end up soggy, then the taste will not be that good.
The Oil temperature is very important to fry calamari. If it´s not heated properly, the calamari may end up overcooked or too soft.
The right temperature is normally around 375 ºF (190 ºC). Many people also add cornstarch to make it crunchier.
Sauce for fried Calamari
Of course, we recommend you to be creative and try different sauces for Calamari. Some people like to add different tomato sauces or mayonnaise.
In our case we really like Calamari without any sauce, just a little bit of lemon on the top. If we have to choose any sauce for the Spanish calamari, that would be aioli.
Is fried Calamari healthy?
It´s time to give you the bad news… Although the squid is a very healthy dish as it´s low in saturated fat. When you add that huge amount of oil to fry the calamari, it turns into a not so healthy dish.
Of course, this happens with most of the fried dishes, but Calamari is a delicious one. One thing you can do is to make them with a different type of Oil (Calamari oil).
Anyway, we know how delicious this plate is, so don´t worry to much, but just don´t eat it every day!