I dream of fried lemon pepper calamari.
Crispy, tender, salty fried calamari with a dipping sauce I could pour all of my troubles into. Pair it with a pitcher of quality margaritas and it’s a delicious happy hour fantasy. I don’t know why I always picture this scenario alone. Probably because I would enjoy the solitude but most likely because I simply don’t want to share. Who could blame me? Tender pieces of golden fried calamari in a salty, lemon pepper coating with a sauce you’ll want to dip everything in. No, it’s mine. In fact, I will need another order.
Starter or Main
This recipe is perfect as an appetizer/starter or as a main dish if you having a fish fry. Just double up the amount of squid or throw some fish and shrimp into the mix. In my house, the adults happily munch on shrimp and calamari while my little one feasts on her own portion of fish goujons. AND by her ‘own portion’ I mean, she won’t let us have a bite. That’s how good it is.
Lemon Pepper Calamari with a Lemon and Thyme Aioli
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves 3-4 1x
Description
Tender pieces of lemon pepper calamari fried to golden perfection and served with the most addictive lemon and thyme aioli dipping sauce. #calamari #appetizer #seafood #fried #crispy
Ingredients
Calamari
- 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour (plus 1–2 tablespoons more for dusting)
- 1/2 cup (60 g) cornstarch
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- the juice of 1 lemon (3-4 tbsp)
- 300 ml (10 oz) of beer
- oil for frying (I use sunflower for this recipe)
- 1–2 large squids
Lemon and Thyme Dipping Sauce
- 1 egg (always make sure you are using good quality fresh eggs)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2–3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 cup (240 ml) of olive oil (regular olive oil is best as it doesn’t carry with it such a heavy taste like extra virgin olive oil does)
Instructions
Lemon Pepper Calamari
- Combine flour, cornstarch, salt, onion powder, garlic powder and black pepper together. Mix until evenly combined.
- Slowly whisk in beer and lemon juice. You want it to be thick but still mobile, so try for the consistency of a runny paste.
- Chill in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, while the batter is chilling, wash and cut up the squid. Leave the tentacles as long strips and cut the mantle into rings. After prep, keep cold. Seafood has a tendency to spoil quickly in the heat so refrigerate until ready to fry.
- In a deep pot or fryer, heat up the oil on high heat for 5-10 minutes. You’ll know when it’s ready to fry when you drop a bit of batter into the water and it bubbles vigorously.
- When the oil is hot, dust squid pieces in flour and dip in beer batter. Make sure it is evenly coated in batter.
- CAREFULLY add to hot oil. Make sure it is evenly distributed in the oil to avoid pieces sticking together.
- Fry until golden brown and crispy then remove from oil and drain on paper towels to soak up all that extra grease.
- Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce.
Lemon and Thyme Aioli
- In a blender, add egg, garlic, thyme leaves, Dijon mustard, salt and lemon juice together.
- Blitz together on high speed until fully pureed.
- With the blender still mixing at high speed, start slowly adding olive oil in a thin strip to the running blender and egg mixture. Keep a watchful eye on it and stop adding olive oil when you see the consistency thicken to a smoother creamier texture. When you see it turn to the consistency that you want, stop adding oil and turn off the blender.
- Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to eat. This can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
When it comes to seafood, fresh is best You can use frozen squid in a pinch if you want but you may run the risk of it being chewy and rubbery.
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 5
- Category: Seafood
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: Western
Keywords: calamari, squid, lemon pepper, crispy, fried, aioli, thyme, garlic
Eat more delicious seafood with these recipes:
John Dory poached in Tomato and Chili Broth
Spicy Seafood Linguine cooked with White Wine
Seafood Stir-Fried in Thai Chili Paste (Nam Prik Pao)
Hi Natasha……….sounds delicious…..I suspect we’ll (Chris really) give it a bash.
Chris & Mike
If Chris is making it, does that mean you’ll be prepping the squid? 😃
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