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Quick and Easy Dinners 2
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Top tips for quick and easy calamari
Freshness is key
Seafood can often be temperamental because it is such a delicate ingredient. Temperature
fluctuations or bad freezing techniques can ruin a piece of fish and make you sick. Get your
fish from a reputable fishmonger and try to get it as fresh as possible. The result will be
completely delicious fish or seafood dishes that need very little tending to make you look
like the head chef.
Crush the spices well
Anything you add to the seasoning of your calamari should be crushed well, using a mortar
and pestle, so the flavour is spread evenly throughout the dish.
Separate the rings from the tentacles
Calamari tentacles and rings take different amounts of time to cook. If you’re planning on
enjoying both over dinner, keep them separate while crumbing. After they’ve put on their
crumby disguises, there’s no telling which is which.
Set up a crumbing station
Set up an industrial line before you start to crumb anything. It decreases the mess and
increases the speed of the process. First dust the calamari in flour to dry it off. Next, dunk it
in the egg wash so the crumbs (which you add last) stick to it. If you’d like a really crispy
batter for your calamari or fish, go for a second round of crumbing by dipping it back into
the egg and the crumbs before frying. It’s best to get stuck in and do this by hand, so you
can shake off excess flour. You’ll get a delicate end result.
Keep it quick and hot
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