Preparation
Cooking & Plating Steps
- In the bag they are portioned in, combine the calamari with the tempura batter. Shake quickly and pull each piece of calamari in the sieve sitting in the flour panko mix. Do not drop the whole bag in the flour mix to avoid clumps of fried dough.
- Cover with a few portion cups of the flour panko mix and strain through the sieve. Repeat the operation 3 or 4 times, until the calamari are fully breaded.
- Drop them in the fryer for one minute, shaking the basket at the beginning to avoid them sticking together.
- Pull them out of the fryer and toss them in a bowl with salt and pepper.
- In a side bowl, combine the fennel, parsley, lemon EVOO dressing with salt and pepper. Toss until smooth and pick each piece of calamari on top of it.
- Stir the bowl quickly. Pour half of the aioli in the bottom of the oval bowl. Gently place the calamari and fennel mix on top. Drizzle the other half on top of the dish and serve right away.
Key Points
- Avoid dropping all the liquids or batter from inside the bag or it will create clumps of dough mixed in with the calamari.
- When tossing the calamari with the fennel, be very gentle so the breading doesn’t fall off the calamari.
- Do not overdress the fennel or it will get too acidic and make the calamari soggy too quickly.
Total preparation time: 4 min
Ingredients
- 6 oz Marinated calamari, cut into cubes
- 2 oz Tampura batter
- 1 oz Tomato Aioli
- 1 oz portion Shaved fennel
- 1 tsp Lemon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch Kosher salt
- 1 pinch Ground black pepper
- 1 pinch Chopped parsley
- Flour & Panko mix on the station, half and half
- 1 each Small, oval bowl
Recipe by
Chefs Xavier Lacaze & Ian Zendejas*
Briggs Kitchen & Bar
#100, 317 10th Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta T2R 0A5
