Hot Calamari Sandwiches
When you can't be in Spain, cook Spanish!
In the spring we went to Madrid, and ever since we got back I’ve been wanting to cook the best thing we ate, which was these Calamari Sandwiches. They were served just with lemon and salt, and truly they need little else. But since tomatoes are available by the 5kg box for £2.99 at the moment (if you look hard enough) I thought I’d pair the sandwiches with Salmorejo. It’s a soup and a sandwich, Spanish style.
I watched the British Library talk on sandwiches with Nigella, Jonathan Nunn, and Rebecca May Johnson on Monday so it’s been a sandwich heavy week. My main takeaway (and not my original thought): hot fried things inside bread are just good. I ate a chicken cutlet sandwich inspired by Carla Lalli Music on Monday in preparation for the talk and GOD it was good.
As hot sandwiches go, a Bocata de Calamares (as they are called in Spain) is as good as things get. I’m happy to report that making one at home is 100% worth it. I really enjoyed eating these with a side of Salmorejo – the cold Spanish tomato soup – because you can drizzle it on top for a refreshing contrast, or serve it on the side. Or you can do both at once. Romesco gets all the air time and I think it’s time its cheaper, looser cousin Salmorejo had its moment. It performs just as well as a sharp and fruity sauce.
You can have your sandwich with mayonnaise or enjoy it simply with a squeeze of lemon. Padrón peppers are a treat as an accompaniment too, with a glass of ice cold beer or vermouth perhaps to really round things off nicely. However you eat this, tell the rain to go fuck itself, and live your summer out on the plate, and in the mind. Who’s with me?
I made Matty Matheson’s bread rolls from his Home Style Cookery cookbook and so we ate our sandwiches in those. But that was just because I needed to relax and felt like being long-winded in the kitchen. A mini baguette from a supermarket will do more than nicely for this. It’s best to make your Salmorejo first because it needs time to rest and become more flavoursome.
Calamari Sandwiches
Warning: this does make quite a bit of calamari but if you’re going to fry you may as well FRY.
2 mini baguettes
2 squid tubes
200ml milk
200g plain flour
40g corn flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp smoked paprika
Oil for frying
Lemon for squeezing
Pour the milk into a bowl and add a couple of pinches of salt. Slice your squid tubes into rings of about 1 cm thick. Dunk them into the bowl of the milk, then leave to rest for 20 minutes.
Prepare your dry mix by whisking together the plain flour, corn flour and baking powder with some salt, pepper and the smoked paprika.
Get a high-sided pan on a medium heat and add about an inch and a half of neutral oil into it for frying - I chose a smaller diameter pan so as not to waste too much oil. In batches, take the calamari from the milk slowly, allowing milk to drip off, then dunk it into the seasoned flour. Move it around so it’s all covered in the mix then shake off. When the oil is well and truly hot, carefully drop (from a low height) a handful in the oil and cook until golden brown. I needed to do mine in 4 batches.
Slice your bread buns and, if you like, remove a little of the middles to make more room for more calamari. When each batch comes out of the fryer, season immediately with flaky salt, then load into your buns and finish with a squeeze of lemon and if you like – a drizzle of your salmorejo…
Salmorejo
4 large tomatoes, quartered
1 garlic clove, peeled and halved
60g breadcrumbs or stale bread, broken up
½ tbsp sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
50ml olive oil
1 hard boiled egg, diced to garnish
Place your tomatoes, breadcrumbs and garlic in a blender (I used a Nutribullet). Pulse until smooth.
Next add your olive oil, sherry vinegar and salt and blend again. Taste for seasoning and adjust with more vinegar if it needs a little more tartness or more oil which makes the soup creamy.
Put the soup through a sieve to rid it of any tomato pips. Leave it to rest in the fridge for at least an hour before eating.
To serve, put the soup in bowls and top with chopped hard boiled egg, a drizzle of oil and black pepper.
Now, all that’s left to say? Thank you, Spain.