Do you eat a plate of deep-fried calamari and feel guilty afterwards (from eating fried food)?
I do.
This is a tasty and speedy alternative to the fried calamari that has become ubiquitous in restaurants all over the globe.
INGREDIENTS: 8 servings (as a main dish)
- 2 pounds of calamari
- 1 onion (smallish, 1.5 ounces or 40 g.)
- 1/4 cup of red pepper paste
- 1 cup of water (8 ounces or 250 ml.)
- 2 tablespoons of pomegranate molasses
- 3 cloves of garlic (1/2 teaspoon of garlic paste)
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1/2 cup of ground walnuts
- 1 tablespoon of ketchup
- 1/2 tablespoon of anchovy paste
- rind of an orange (optional)
- 2 lemons or 1 cup of plain yogurt
METHOD:
- Cut the calamari in fine slices and set aside.
- Chop the onion and chop the garlic. Place the chopped garlic in a mortar and pound into a paste with a dash of salt.
- Heat the olive oil and fry the onions for a few minutes till translucent (cover the skillet for two minutes); add the red pepper paste, water, cumin, garlic paste, pomegranate molasses, walnuts, anchovy paste and orange rind. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time to mix the ingredients well.
- Add the calamari and stir every 15 seconds over medium heat. When the calamari rings look opaque (after about 5 minutes), they are done.
- Serve piping hot with quartered lemons; this dish can be served with Lebanese couscous (moghrabiyeh) or fine-grain couscous or pasta or a loaf of bread.
NOTE: This dish is delicious served with a side of yogurt.
35 Comments
You know how to win my heart! I LOVE calamari but often find the way it’s done here a bit…bland…and this is a great way to kick it up a notch!
Joumana,
I have yet to try making this muhammara sauce at home. What a delicious treat. I bet this would taste scrumptious over pasta too. Is moghrabiyeh similar to the Italian Fregola?
Heguiberto
Never cooked calamari before…only eaten it in restaurants.
ça change des calamars frits, j’aime ta recette!!
I’ve never made it at home either – order it often when we’re out. I do love it and this sounds like a wonderful recipe.
I rarely cook calamari because I end up cooking it for too long and it ends up rubbery. must try your muhammara sauce
This looks incerdible and so different to thr fried calamri – fantastic and creative! Thanks Joumana
chow! Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
Yum!!! I have never had calamari like this …and clearly I have been missing out.
What an interesting way to prepare calamari…looks so tasty and full of flavor. Love it! Have a great week!
Gorgeous color on the calamari!
An original way to eat calamari! This looks really good!!
That dish looks mighty good! What an awesome combination.
Cheers,
Rosa
Wonderful! Such a nice variation from the battered-fried calamari typical here in Spain.
Wow, your calamari sound delicious! I don’t particularly like them fried, but this sounds like a great alternative.
This is the PERFECT reminder that I should make some muhammara with the rest of my pomegranate molasses! This sounds like a delicious alternative to fried calamari…bet you wouldn’t even miss the grease and oil!
Never eaten calamari like this before..looks so tempting and YUM!
Vibrant and colorful calamari ! I have never tried but now thinking to give it a try!
I love calamari and admit that it is ubiquitous in restaurants… fried. I remember a friend telling me she hated it any other way because of the texture… it was more palatable when fried and not RUBBERY.
Well, hard to convince someone so against something… but well prepared it is soft and delicious. Great flavors here… will try it your way!
Frankly, I’m just thinking about that sauce on chicken. Or shrimp. Or fish fillets. (But you’re right: the fried calamari in restaurants is often not worth it. And too rubbery, to boot.)
Guilt free calamari? Lead me to it! Although I confess, I’ve only used it in salads at home; I save the fried on rare occasions dining out.
The muhammara sauce looks wonderful and has some fabulous flavors!
This sounds like a terrific preparation of calamari, the sauce is very unique and flavorful with the pomegranate molasses and cumin and everything!
Watch me throw guilt out the window as I tackle your method, Joumana. It looks delicious and now I must try to find calamari in my local grocery store. Wish me luck!!!
Thanks for sharing…
My favourite is grilled calmari but a quick stir-fry is also very good too! Brilliant colour and I’m looking for the tentacles…love them!
@Louise: Check out Asian stores in your area, they will certainly have it!
@Juanita: The pomegranate molasses impart a fruity taste to a dish, it is not really sweet, actually a little sour. The molasses is extracted from sour-tasting pomegranates.
Lately Joumana I eat a lot of things and I feel guilty afterwards. It seems that kilos are stuck in my behinds and do not wish to leave! This calamari looks very crunchy and I would love to try it even with a touch of guilt afterwards!
I have never cooked calamari at home before because I live inland and cannot get calamari fresh enough, and the frozen kind is just too watery, which is such a pity as the tastes in your recipe are truly inspired!
I have never heard of pomegranate molasses. Does that impart the taste of pomegranates to the dish, or only sweetness?
LOVE calamari any way but I do love it fried and I never make it at home because we almost never fry. So this is perfect! We both will love it and the amazing flavors!
I love kalamari! My parents have a Greek deli and I it was my favorite food growing up. I would love to try it like this, without being fried. It sounds delicious, and the coloring is just beautiful. I’ll have to make some for Easter
I love this! What a perfect way to serve calamari! I did buy some pomegranate molasses, now I just have to hang around here to find out different ways to use it!
I’d lived for over 10 years in the Middle East before I tried Muhammara (on a visit to Syria) and I was instantly hooked. Love the idea of it with calamari.
Just saying the name Muhammara out loud has amused me. The ingredients did the rest to convince me that I have to make calamari this way very soon. I really like the sweeter aspect to the sauce ;o)
I also just lately tried out the moghrabiyeh couscous variety…very interesting grain. Hopefully I’ll post about that at some point also.
Have a great day,
Claudia
This is a lovely alternative to the fried version. I just wish all restaurants cook prepare calamari without getting to the rubber stage lol. Great recipe
Such a grand tribute to calamari…beautiful dish and I also like that it is not fried
My mouth is watering like crazy just looking at that picture.
Great – I love muhammara and am always looking for new ways to ‘eat’ it. Making some this weekend!