Calamari salad with a garlicky yoghurt dressing

This is one of my symmetrical salads, which is something I enjoy arranging. But first, a breakthrough: the best way to fry calamari has long eluded me, until I opened a cupboard and glared at the wok. It sort of glared back at me as if to say, “Whut?!” But I ignored it, because I was thinking … hang on… you’ll do for this calamari. And yes, that’s the only vessel I’ll fry calamari in from now on.

Here’s the key though: the heat was absolutely intense. I wacked it up and left the naked wok on the highest heat for several minutes before adding a splash of oil and a few strips of calamari at a time. It turned out perfectly tender and full of its own natural flavour, thanks to the use of only salt and pepper. But there’s some work to be done before you get to that stage.

These were strips of calamari steaks, which I had defrosted in their sealed bag in cold water. But when you open the pack, they’re still riddled with water. So I squeezed them out repeatedly with my hands to get rid of as much water as possible. Then I rubbed and patted them dry with kitchen paper, several times. Finally, they were left to dry out on a board on the kitchen table. It’s a bit of bother, but it makes all the difference.

Then, I scored one side, lightly; try to identify the side with the membrane, that’s the side to score. The trick is to press down lightly with a sharp knife and to keep the scoring lines close together, then to criss-cross them on the opposite diagonal. Then you slice the steak into narrow strips about 1 cm wide.

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But this is a salad as well as a calamari dish, so they can be fried off in the wok before you assemble the salad. The pasta can be cooked and drained first too, then tossed in olive oil.

The vegetables I chose were green and morning-fresh. A romaine lettuce. Sugar snap peas in their pods; young ones. Baby cucumbers. Spring onions. And a few sprigs of fresh coriander.

For the pasta, find a packet in the cupboard with leftover pasta in it. I used penne rigate, but any smallish pasta will do. It’s a way to use up something you might have ignored for a while.

For the dressing, I mixed double cream yoghurt with lemon juice, garlic, fresh oregano leaves, salt and black pepper, and finished it with excellent quality Varsfontein olive oil.

Tony’s calamari and pasta salad with a garlicky yoghurt dressing

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

4 calamari steaks, thawed

1 romaine lettuce, rinse and drained

16 sugar snap peas, veins pulled off

6 baby cucumbers, quartered lengthwise

2 spring onions, sliced thinly

Olive oil to drizzle on the greens arranged in the bowl

Salt and black pepper as needed

Coriander, fresh

150 g (or so) pasta such as penne rigate or shells

Varsfontein or other good quality olive oil to toss the drained pasta in

Olive oil for wok-frying the calamari strips

For the dressing:

1 cup double cream plain yoghurt

3 cloves garlic, very finely chopped

4 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed

1 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

3 Tbsp Varsfontein cold pressed olive oil

¼ cup fresh oregano leaves, chopped

Method

Thaw the frozen calamari steaks and squeeze out as much water as you can. Pat dry and leave to dry further in the kitchen air.

Score in a diamond pattern, pressing lightly with a sharp knife and being very careful not to cut through.

Cook the pasta in salted rapidly boiling water until al dente, drain, and then toss a little olive oil through it. This will prevent it from sticking together. Leave it aside.

Rinse the lettuce and pat dry. Blanch the sugar snap peas in boiling water for a minute and refresh in iced water. Drain. Quarter the baby cucumbers lengthwise. Slice the spring onions. 

Mix the dressing ingredients together.

Heat a wok on a very high heat. Only when hot, add a little olive oil, give it a minute to become very hot, and fry a handful of calamari strips at a time, tossing with wooden spoons until they brown a little. Season lightly with salt and black pepper while you work. 

Three minutes or so per batch did the job for me, to my surprise; I had expected them to turn rubbery by then but they were utterly soft. Do be watchful: if they are still holding their size, i.e. not becoming smaller, they should be fine. If they reduce in size, it’s a sign that they’re turning rubbery, and you don’t want that. Drain them on kitchen paper in a bowl or colander. Repeat with the remainder.

In an attractive bowl, arrange the lettuce around the sides, the cucumber on that, and lay out the sugar snap peas. Season with salt and black pepper and drizzle a little olive oil over, lightly. Sprinkle the spring onions around, and spoon the pasta into the centre. The calamari can go on top of that, with the yoghurt dressing spooned around. Finish with a few fresh coriander sprigs. It’s a light meal in itself and needs no accompaniments. DM

Tony Jackman is twice winner of the Galliova Food Writer of the year award, in 2021 and 2023

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This dish is photographed in a bowl by Mervyn Gers Ceramics.