Fried Calamari with a Pea & Mint Salad and Lime Dipping Sauce

Recipe by Katherine Brown of Debacle

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups (150g) dry breadcrumbs
• Finely grated zest of 2 lemons, plus juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 cup (150g) plain flour
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 400g cleaned squid tubes, sliced into 1cm rings
• 1 cup (300g) whole egg mayonnaise
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• 4 cornichons, chopped
• Sunflower oil, to deep-fry

Pea & mint salad

• 1 tbs red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup (120g) frozen peas, blanched, refreshed
• 2 Lebanese cucumbers, chopped
• 250g punnet vine-ripened cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 bunch mint leaves

Method:

– Combine breadcrumbs and half the lemon zest in a bowl and season. Place the flour and eggs in separate bowls. Dip squid tubes first in flour, then egg, and coat well in crumb mixture. Chill for 15 minutes.
– Meanwhile, mix the mayonnaise, garlic, chopped cornichons, lemon juice and remaining zest in a bowl. Set aside.
– For the salad, whisk together the red wine vinegar and olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Toss remaining salad ingredients with the dressing.
– Half-fill a deep-fryer or large saucepan with oil and heat to 190°C (a cube of bread will turn golden in 30 seconds when the oil is hot enough). In batches, fry the calamari for 1-2 minutes until golden. Drain on paper towel.
– Serve the fried calamari immediately, with the salad and lemon aioli.