Best Fried Calamari Recipe with Tartar Sauce

Whether you’ve been to Greece, Croatia, Italy or Spain, fried calamari have been on almost all seafood restaurant’s menus. But we’ve had the best fried calamari in Greece so we’re thrilled to showcase this fried calamari recipe with tartar sauce by Greek celebrity Chef Giorgos Tsoulis.

For the calamari:

• 6 large calamari cleaned and cut in rings of 3 cm/ about 1inch
• 180 g wheat flour shifted
• 180 g corn flour
• 90 g fine semolina
• 1 tbsp mustard powder
• 1 tbsp dried tarragon
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika powder
• salt
• pepper

For the tartar sauce:

• 3 tbsp finely chopped pickled cucumber
• 3 tbsp chopped capers
• 1/2 medium onion finely chopped
• 1/2 lime (or lemon) juiced
• 350 g mayonnaise
• 1 ½ tbsp finely chopped dill
• pepper

For the calamari:

• Place the flour, corn flour, semolina, mustard powder, tarragon, and paprika in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, stir well.
• Immerse the calamari in the batter, making sure it is well coeated.
• Place a deep pan with plenty of sunflower oil over high heat. Once the oil is hot, fry the calamari, in batches, until golden. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with absorbent paper.

For the tartar sauce:

• Place the pickled cucumber, capers, onion, lime juice in a blender and blend until a paste is created.
• Transfer the paste to a kitchen towel. Wrap the paste in the towel and press it well to remove all the liquid.
• Place the mayonnaise, the paste, the dill, and a little pepper in a serving bowl and mix well.
• Serve the hot calamari with the tartar sauce.

Notes

• While frying, avoid shaking the pan so that the calamari acquires a nice crust and does not dissolve.
• For an even more amazing taste, we can add a little lemon zest to the breading.
• You can store the tartar sauce in the fridge for up to 3 days.