Ingredients

• Calamari (raw) (2 lbs. – cleaned)

• Buttermilk (½ qt.)

• Romano cheese (shredded)

• Eggs (3)

• Salt (just a pinch)

• Olive Oil

• Cornmeal (1 cup)

• Cornstarch (1 cup)

• Italian parsley

• Paprika

• Himalayan pink salt (½ - 1 tsp.)

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Pastry flour (organic, non-enriched) (2 cups)

Dipping:

• Marinara sauce (2/3 – 1 cup)

• Mayonnaise (2 tbsp.)

• Horseradish (1 tsp.)

• Lemon (1)

How to Prepare

1. If the calamari is frozen, thaw it in water for about 15 minutes.

2. Clean and cut up the calamari.

3. Add the 2 pounds of cut calamari to the ½ quart of buttermilk.

4. Add the eggs and a pinch of salt to the buttermilk and calamari.

5. Let the calamari sit overnight, or for about 12 hours, wrapped in saran warp in the refrigerator.

6. In a cast-iron pan, heat up some olive oil to 370 degrees.

7. In a large mixing bowl, add in the flour, cornmeal, paprika, salt, fresh ground pepper and parsley. Stir. Leave enough parsley for garnishing at the end.

8. Take small pieces of calamari from the buttermilk and dip it into the flour mixture.

9. Shake off any excess fluid from the calamari before dipping, but not too much so it is dry.

10. Just dust the calamari in the flour, not coat it. Make sure to get flour in the ring of the calamari.

11. Place the floured calamari in the heated oil.

12. After 2 - 3 minutes, remove the fried calamari from the hot oil with tongs.

13. Place the calamari on a strainer.

14. Sprinkle some salt and cheese over the pieces.

15. While the calamari is cooling, prepare the dipping sauce by adding the mayonnaise and horseradish to the marinara sauce. Stir.

16. Add in some parsley to the sauce. Stir

17. Cut the ends off of the lemon and then cut it into wedges.

18. In a medium-sized dish, place the warm calamari. Add some more salt and cheese if desired.

19. Squeeze the lemon juice over the calamari and garnish with some fresh parsley. Enjoy!