Chile-Brined Fried Calamari
Fried calamari is my go-to bar snack, but unfortunately, if not executed well, it easily soaks up excess oil and becomes soggy and greasy. In the air fryer, there’s no worrying about that, so you’re guaranteed crispy, nearly greaseless calamari. I like to “quick brine” the calamari in pickled pepper juice to infuse it with more flavor and “fry” up some peppers alongside it to add interest to the pile of fried squid. A rosemary-infused garlic mayo is the perfect foil for this spicy, crunchy appetizer.
Equipment
Ingrediënten
- 1 jar 8 ounces sweet or hot pickled cherry peppers
- ½ pound calamari bodies and tentacles bodies cut into ½-inch-wide rings
- 1 lemon
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 large eggs lightly beaten
- Cooking spray
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
- 1 garlic clove minced
Instructies
- Drain the pickled pepper brine into a large bowl and tear the peppers into bite-size strips.
- Add the pepper strips and calamari to the brine and let stand in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or up to 2 hours.
- Grate the lemon zest into a large bowl then whisk in the flour and season with salt and pepper.
- Dip the calamari and pepper strips in the egg, then toss them in the flour mixture until fully coated.
- Spray the calamari and peppers liberally with cooking spray, then transfer half to the air fryer.
- Cook at 400°F, shaking the basket halfway into cooking, until the calamari is cooked through and golden brown, about 8 minutes.
- Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining pieces.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, rosemary, and garlic.
- Squeeze half the zested lemon to get 1 tablespoon of juice and stir it into the sauce.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Cut the remaining zested lemon half into 4 small wedges and serve alongside the calamari, peppers, and sauce.
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