Calamari

I have spent all morning in the garden, trying to take control over the weeds. So far I don't feel like I am winning the battle, but you have to start somewhere! There is a lot to do at the moment, weeding. pruning and planting. I am not spending any time in the vegetable garden at the moment, too many other big jobs on. I have 20 fruit trees in the garden, and yes that is a lot of pruning. This year they will be pruned very hard as they are becoming more difficult to net. I have lived here for 34 years this year. In the past birds were not a big issue. Since the drought the rainbow lorikeets come in December and eat every apple and what ever is ripe, or semi ripe at the time. The apples are so green, I don't know why they bother. But I do know that we are not getting many. Apples here do not ripen until at least late march. It is really dis heartening to see large flocks of birds destroying the fruit trees. One consolation is that they don't eat citrus fruits, considering this I am planning on planting more citrus. The problem is that I have run out of room to plant more trees. Oh well I suppose it had to happen. Yesterday I ate my first tangelo! Fresh from the tree, juicy and delicious. The joy of eating your own home grown citrus is such a different experience to fruit shipped miles and stored in cool rooms. It spoils you for good I think.We are looking forward to having enough citrus to juice. The ultimate luxury I feel. My garden helper is coming tomorrow, armed with a chainsaw. So we should be able to make an impact on the pruning jobs. It stared to rain around lunch time and as Coen was still at home, I cooked his favorite calamari for lunch. It is simple to make, it just takes a bit of patience in the cooking.      

Italian Style Calamari
500 grams calamari
3 brown onions
Plain flour, seasoned with freshly ground black pepper
4 small chillies
Olive oil
Chopped Italian parsley to garnish
Lemon or Lime wedges

Method.
Halve the onions and slice reasonably finely. Place in a plastic container with the seasoned flour, seal tightly with the lid and shake till the onions are coated with the flour. Remove onions from the flour, you can do this by tipping the contents of the container into a sieve and shaking the flour out. This helps to retrieve small pieces of onion. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large pan and slowly cook the onions, turning them to stop them browning too quickly. Slice the calamari into rings and place them on a clean dry tea towel, cover with a second tea towel and rub them to remove as much moisture as possible. Toss the calamari in flour in the same way as the onions. When the onions are cooked, remove them from the pan and place them to one side while you cook the calamari. In a little more olive oil, add the calamari and chilli, cooking slowly, turning regularly and taking care not to overcook. When the calamari is cooked, add the onions and heat through. Serve with a small amount of chopped Italian parsley and a wedge of lime or lemon.

A lot of people think that this dish is cooked with breadcrumbs. But it is the flour that makes the crisp coating. The secret is to make certain that the calamari is as dry as possible. We love this dish and probably have it once every fortnight.