Jayne: Nicknamed the “Ocean” state, the small State of Rhode Island has almost 400 miles of coastline. This coastline supports a large fishing community that supplies many of the clams, squid and fish that end up in restaurants and homes throughout the country, and world. On average, Rhode Island “lands” 22 million pounds of squid, every year and it is then shipped to countries all over the world. No wonder Calamari is the state’s official appetizer.
Calamari is served throughout the region and the most common preparation is fried with a side of marinara and often with banana peppers.
Ingredients:
- Vegetable oil (for deep frying)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbs chopped parsley
- 1 lb. clean squid with tentacles, bodies cut into ½-inch-thick rings
- 2 lemons, cut into wedges
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup Marinara Sauce, warmed
- Sliced banana peppers
Directions:
- In a large, heavy saucepan, add enough oil to reach the depth of 2 – 3 inches and heat over a medium flame to 350 deg. F.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour and parsley. Working in batches, toss the squid into the flour mixture to coat.
- Carefully add the squid to the oil and fry until crisp and very pale golden, about 3 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried calamari to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.
- Place the fried calamari and lemon wedges on a clean plate. Sprinkle with salt and serve with the marinara sauce and banana peppers.
* If you don’t have a thermometer to check the oil temperature, there are two ways to test the oil. One is by dropping a small piece of bread into the oil. If it sinks to the bottom of the pan, then the oil is too cold, and if it burns immediately, the oil is too hot; but if the bread sizzles slowly, the oil is just right. The other is to place the end of a wooden spoon into the oil; if the end sizzles, the oil is ready.
**Thank you to Giada De Laurentiis and her recipe for fried calamari in Everyday Italian.
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