Deep fried squid is a family favourite. On a previous holiday in Andalusia we found that there were ready cut squid rings at the fish counter. I think that the Portuguese are more into grilled or roasted fish so this holiday we made ours from scratch including cleaning the squid. It is not difficult especially if you follow the 3 minute rule. At home we often deep fry the squid with seasoned flour but since we were on holiday and not in a rush the family demanded the 'full Monty' with breadcrumbs.
Serves 4-5
Ingredients
500-600 g fresh squid
3 eggs
flour as needed
salt
pepper
breadcrumbs
half lemon
Method
1. Clean squid if necessary
2. Cut squid mantles into rings about 1 cm wide, cut the tentacles into manageable sizes
3. Heat deep fat fryer or deep pan with vegetable oil to 180 Celsius
4. Beat together eggs (my rule of thumb is one egg per 200 g squid) and put in bowl
5. Mix flour with salt and pepper and put in bowl
6. Put breadcrumbs in bowl
7. Set out two additional bowls with chopped squid and an empty one for the breaded squid
8. Take pieces of squid and cover with flour, then dip in egg and then cover with breadcrumbs
9. When you have enough for a batch, take breaded squid and fry for up to two minutes (remember the 3 minute rule).
10. Fry additional batches until squid is ready.
11. Serve with slices of lemon.
I do not ever measure the flour or breadcrumbs. It is fairly obvious if the bowls need topping up.
Since we were in Portugal we thought that a fiery dip would be appropriate. It was 8 parts tomato ketchup to one part piri-piri.
