Fried Calamari Rings!

Ahhhhh! There is just something about deep frying! Anything that can be deep fried will taste 10 times better in my book. Although I only allow myself to eat those types of food about once a week, when I do it, I do it BIG!!!!! So coming home on Saturday night, loser I know right! Anyways, its just my boyfriend, the dog, and I tonight, so deep fried is what is on the menu.

The Possibilities are endless; chicken, vegetables tempura, salt cod fritters, and even the occasional coxinha (brazilian chicken dumplings,) but tonight fried squid it is. Yes people, for those of you who don't know, calamari is squid. Not the gigantic, eat your parents kind of squid, but the cute little tentacles you wanna give a kiss type of squid.

Okay, maybe not that cute at this stage!

But once cleaned and properly sliced and separated, the things really start to look appetizing.

I got mine whole, but if you hit up your local supermarket, I usually go to Whole Foods, they will already be cleaned and in tube like formula, all you have to do is slice them and you will be ready to go. As shown above, I also include the tentacles, most people do not care for them but that is a taste thing, include them if you would like.
After slicing through all tubes and washing well, I lay them on a couple sheets of paper towel, so that they dry thoroughly before we put the coating on them. This is a fairly easy recipe. Only a few ingredients are needed, but if done right, these little ringlets of seafoodness are a heaven to enjoy with your loved ones or by yourself ;)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of baby squid, cleaned and sliced width wise into 1/2 inch thick rings
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons of dried oregano (rub the oregano between your fingers, that releases the flavor)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Lemon wedges, to serve
• Marinara, to serve
• Canola oil for frying

Method:

Put about 2 inches of oil in a pan and bring the oil temperature to 350' F over a medium high heat.

                   ( Pointer: I do not have a thermometer, so over trial and error, i learned a trick. Bring the oil in a pan over medium high heat, until a wooden spoon inserted, releases bubbles on the bottom of the pan. This should take about 5 minutes depending on the power of your heat source.)

While the oil comes to temperature mix the flour, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper in a brown bag. This is the easiest way for me, allowing me to do this in large batches.

Grab half of your calamari and put inside your bag with the flour mixture, shake vigorously so that every ring is coated. Remove with a slotted spoon so that you only grab the calamari and not the excess flour. Drop the rings in oil and fry till golden, this should only take about 2 minutes if your oil is at the right temperature. DO NOT OVERCOOK YOUR CALAMARI!!!! You will end up with rubbery and chewy wheels of sadness instead of the beautiful, tasty, rings of bliss my boyfriend and I feasted on.

Serve with lemon wedges and marinara sauce. Enjoy!!!!!

PS>  Diesel was so sad that he didn't have any left overs, we ate everything, look at his face.