Calamari sandwich

Ingredients: (for 6 to 8 large sandwiches)

For the calamari:

– 1 kg of fresh squid (clean and sliced)

– 100 g of “panko” breadcrumbs for battering

– Salt and freshly ground pepper

– 1/2 litres of olive oil for frying

For the mayonnaise:

– Two eggs at room temperature

– 120 g of EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

– 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh coriander

– One heaped teaspoon of wholegrain mustard (with visible grains)

– A few drops of Tabasco sauce

– A clove of peeled garlic without the germ

– Salt and freshly ground pepper

– Zest of 1/2 a lime or a small lemon

– One tablespoon of lime juice

For the black bread roll:

– 500 g of bread flour

– 125 g of warm whole milk

– 125 g of warm water

– Two eggs at room temperature

– 15 g of fresh yeast

– 10 g of Maldon salt

– 5 g of sugar

– Two sachets (8 g) of squid ink

– 50 g of softened butter

– One beaten egg for painting

Cooking method:

For the black bread rolls:

1- We put all the ingredients, except for the salt and butter, beaten egg and sesame seeds, in a large container and stir until they are fully mixed in. If using a blender, we would first knead the mixture for a couple of minutes.

Add the salt and butter and continue kneading for 12/15 minutes. Leave it to stand by covering the bowl with a plastic covering for an hour and a half so that it at least doubles in volume.

2- After that time has passed, we knead it again and form rolls of about 100/125 g. We place them on a baking sheet covered with baking paper, keeping a distance of half a span or so between them. We let them settle again for another hour and a half, after sprinkling them lightly with flour on top, and covered with a cloth.

3- After they have settled for the second time, very delicately so that the dough does not fall and with the help of a soft cooking brush, we get rid of the excess flour from the top of each bun. Then, we paint the rolls with the beaten egg and sprinkle black sesame seeds on top.

4- We put the tray in a preheated oven at 200ºC and bake it for 13 minutes.

5- We remove it from the oven and let it cool while we prepare the other parts of the recipe.

For the citrus mayonnaise:

1- In a food processor mixing bowl (Turmix) we add all the ingredients except the lime juice.

2- We place the Turmix inside the glass, settling it well on the bottom and start mixing at a low speed without moving the mixer for about 30 seconds. We then begin to raise the Turmix slowly, the mayonnaise will have acquired body and density, and we can continue whisking it until we get a homogeneous sauce without any lumps. If we fancy it thicker, we can lightly add oil while whisking it to taste. Bear in mind that the juice will make it somewhat runnier.

3- We add the lime juice and stir it. We keep it to one side covered with a plastic lid.

For the calamari:

1- In a deep saucepan or fryer, we heat the oil up.

2- We put the “panko” breadcrumbs in a large bowl, and we add the clean and previously seasoned squid slices and legs, just the few that we are going to fry in each batch. We must make sure they are well battered all over their surface.

3- Fry the squid on both sides for 1 or 2 minutes. We take it out and let the calamari stand for a few seconds on some kitchen roll to remove the excess oil.

Photos and recipe: cocinaDsastre.