Steemit Sandwich Contest Week #63- Fried Calamari Sandwich

It's week #63 of @jaybird's Steemit sandwich contest and I was thinking back to a conversation I had with my friend when we were laughing about all the crazy jobs we had. The one that struck me the most was during my first year of university, I worked at a kitchen in a busy casual dining restaurant. My job was to make all the deep fried appetizers which were the usual suspects such as: fried calamari, nachos, mozzarella sticks and french fries. At the end of the night I smelled like a grease pit. That smell lingered even after my long showers. Needless to say, I did not last very long there however, it did inspire me for this week's sandwich idea- Fried Calamari Sandwich on Squid Ink Bun.

Ingredients

• fried calamari (squid, cornmeal, flour, onion salt, paprika, black pepper, and buttermilk)
• Marinara sauce (tomatoes, onion, garlic, tomato paste, bayleaf, thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil)
• fennel slaw ( fennel, fresh parsley, lemon juice, salt and lemon zest)
• squid ink bun (bread flour, yeast, milk, salt, squid ink powder, and olive oil)

For the buns, I thought it would be cool to make a jet black bun to go with the calamari. I found some squid ink powder and I added some into the bread mix. You can also use black food coloring but the buns will not be super black.

My favorite way to eat fried calamari is to dip it in a simple tomato sauce. So for the sandwich, I made a basic tomato sauce with some fresh tomatoes, onions, and I flavored it with thyme and bayleaf. After I cooked the tomato sauce, I puréed it smooth.

For the calamari, I cut the squid into 1/2" rings. I like to use a mixture of tubes and tentacles.

I added some buttermilk to the squid before coating the squid in a mixture of flour, cornmeal, and spices. The buttermilk tenderizes the calamari and helps the coating stick to the squid. I find the quickest and easiest way to coat the squid is to put the flour mixture into a plastic bag. Then I add the calamari in batches and shake the the bag to evenly coat the squid. Make sure you fry the calamari at a higher temperature than regular fried foods. I fry mine at 400 degrees F for 1-2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

To assemble the sandwich, I lightly toasted the squid ink buns and I pile the calamari high on top of one half of the bun. Then I drizzled some tomato sauce over the calamari. To add a touch of freshness, I added a shaved fennel and parsley slaw.

Thank you @jaybird for another fun week. I have to say this fry experience was much more enjoyable than back in my college days. At least I did not smell like a greasy spoon!