Italian

Sage and anchovy fritto misto (fried calamari)

Name: Sage and anchovy fritto misto (fried calamari) recipe
Yield: 6
Cuisine: /italian
Ingredients: 24 sage leaves; 6 good-quality anchovies, halved lengthways; Vegetable oil, to deep-fry; 250g squid, cleaned, tentacles reserved, tubes cut into 5mm rounds; 1 lemon, thinly sliced into rounds; 200g school prawns or whitebait; Aioli, to serve; 150g plain flour; 50g cornflour; 2 tsp baking powder; 250ml soda; 125ml white wine

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by Georgina Esdaile

Food Editor

Aug 04, 2022

Georgina Esdaile makes fried calamari, but like you've never seen them before. Trust in Geo's sage advice.

24 sage leaves
6 good-quality anchovies, halved lengthways
Vegetable oil, to deep-fry
250g squid, cleaned, tentacles reserved, tubes cut into 5mm rounds
1 lemon, thinly sliced into rounds
200g school prawns or whitebait
Aioli, to serve

Batter

1 cup (150g) plain flour
1/2 cup (50g) cornflour (we used Woolworths Macro cornflour)
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup (250ml) cold soda water
1/2 cup (125ml) chilled dry white wine

Method

1.

Lay 12 sage leaves on a work surface, top each with a piece of anchovy, then sandwich with remaining sage leaves and press to close. Set aside.
2.

For the batter, place flour, cornflour, baking powder and 1 tsp salt flakes in a bowl and whisk to combine. Make a well in the centre, add soda water and wine and whisk until a smooth batter.
3.

Half-fill a large saucepan with vegetable oil and place over high heat. Heat to 180°C (a cube of bread turns golden in 30 seconds). Working in batches, dip squid, lemon, prawns and sage into the batter, allowing excess to drip off, and carefully add to the hot oil. Fry for 1-2 minutes until golden.
4.

Drain on paper towel, season with salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper and serve with aioli alongside.