ingredients
for the “tzatziki”
2 finely chopped small garlic cloves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small cucumber
250 grams of Cypriot (or Greek style) yogurt
1 teaspoon dried mint
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste
for the “calamari”
500 grams of fresh small squid
a large bowl full of All Purpose Flour
a large bowl of ice cold water (or a large bowl of milk) (see below recipe for more details)
vegetable or olive oil for frying (must be at least 1 inch deep in the pan)
salt & pepper to taste
freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt, pepper & oregano as garnish
Cucumber-Garlic-Yogurt Dip (“Tzatziki”)
1. Add the garlic to olive oil in a medium sized bowl. Note that I prefer my “tzatziki” on the “garlic-y” side, so you can choose to only add one minced garlic if you prefer, and then add more if you think it needs more of a kick later.
2. Finely grate the small cucumber. Then strain the grated cucumber for at least 15 minutes. Sprinkle a little salt on top of the grated cucumber as this will encourage excess liquid to be released.
3. Add the yogurt, cucumber, mint, lemon juice and salt and pepper to the garlic and olive oil. Mix together well. If the mixture appears runny, add a touch more yogurt.
Fried Squid (“Calamari”)
1. Prepare your squid. If you buy fresh squid from a fishmonger, ask them to prepare it for frying. They will remove the innards from the “calamari” and pull the transparent spine out from the body, and remove any beaks as well. Don’t worry, it sounds scary, but it’s not. I get very grossed out by cleaning fish, this was OK. If the tentacles are small (like in the picture) simply leave them as is. Cut the bodies into rings of about 1 inch big or leave them whole, if they are small.
2. Your “calamari” may have been sitting on ice so will be slightly wet. Place the cut pieces of “calamari” on paper towel to soak up an excess liquid for about 10 minutes.
3. Next, prepare your bowl of flour and ice cold water (or milk). Sprinkle some salt and pepper into the flour and mix together.
4. Heat the oil to a very high heat. It has to be very high for the “calamari” to cook properly.
5. Dip a piece of “calamari” into the flour and make sure it is well coated outside and inside. Then quickly dip the piece into the cold water or milk. (It makes no difference to the taste, I simply hear that if you use milk it keeps the “calamari” tender, but to be honest, the “calamari” I dipped in cold water also was tender.) Then dip the piece back into the flour and make sure it is well coated with flour.
6. Once the oil is hot, add the flour coated “calamari” one to three pieces at a time. (I added them one at a time, because I wanted to make sure that the “calamari” did not burn.)
7. They will cook extremely fast – I needed only about 1 minute per piece of small “calamari”, the larger pieces may need an extra minute. You do not want the batter to burn or for the “calamari” to be hard and chewy, hence the quick frying time and the extremely high heat.
8. Remove from the oil and place on a paper towel to remove any excess oil. Then serve immediately, squeezing fresh lemon juice and sprinkling salt, pepper and dried oregano (if you like) to taste on top. (Try the fried “calamari” before adding salt, as it will already be quite salty with the batter and the fact that it is seafood!)
Would love to have the name of the fishmonger. I live in Limassol,hope he is located here; if not, “have car, will travel”! The Tzatziki receipe looks quite delicious! One tip: I grate the cucumber(s) the night before, put in a strainer in the fridge;they will last one or two days. drain the water after I have pushed them down and use for the Tzatziki as well as for other salads. I’ve found that grated cucumbers are easier to digest for most people than those chopped.
Thank you for your wonderful receipes and delightful conversation.
Hi Judith, thanks for your lovely comment! The name of the fishmonger is “Κώμα του Γιαλού”, phone number is: 25 336 286. It is located in Limassol!! This is where I live too, and so I tend to know more about the Limassol places-to-shop than anywhere else on the island. The fishmonger is located off Ayia Fyla road. If you take the Ayia Fyla round about down towards the sea, you will pass Alpha Mega on your right and come to a set of lights. Once you pass the lights, it is your immediate right turn – a road called “SPYRID TRIKOYPI” – (that’s literally how the road is written in English on the street sign). Your trip is such a fantastic one, both for tzatziki and for salads! I can imagine getting ready for a dinner party, and having it ready to go in the fridge from the night before! PS You made me laugh with your comment “have car, will travel!”. The other day I went to Kato Drys to buy some jams from Elli – her tomato chutney is just out of this world. I received a lot of teasing from my boyfriend for making such a long drive just for chutney, but it is definitely worth it! … (He definitely didn’t tease when he was eating it!!) Thank you for reading and your support on facebook Judith, it really brightens my day! xx
Hiya,
The recipe looks good! Though I do have an issue… Find a good fishmonger is a pain!
Could you please provide a map for the place? By Ayi Fyla road you mean Ayios Fylaxeos? I’m new to Limassol, so still trying to find my way around 🙂
Thanks in advance!
P.S. Your website is lovely!
Hi Ugne – thanks so much! I don’t have a map of the place, but yes if you go to the Ayia Fylaxeos round about. Go left (towards the center of town, i.e. towards Makarios avenue). When you pass the first set of lights (a little intersection with a garden store on one of the corners) take the next right – it’s a small road. You will find the fishmonger there one your left about 50 meters down. Hope that helps!
Thanks for the idea.