Arabic Calamari Pan

Ingredients

• 2 red chili peppers
• 3 large cloves of garlic
• Salt
• 2.5 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 tsp ground cumin
• 150 g roasted paprika peppers (from jar)
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp Red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp paprika powder (sweet or smoked Spanish paprika)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 500 g fresh medium-sized calamari
• 0.5 bunch cilantro
• Pepper

Instructions

1. 1.

   Rinse the chilies, dry them, slice lengthwise, deseed, clean and roughly chop. Peel the garlic and also roughly chop.

2. 2.

   Place the garlic and chilies, 1/4 tsp salt, half of the coriander, cinnamon and cumin in a mortar and grind very finely.

3. 3.

   Drain the paprika peppers and pat dry. Put the prepared spice mix with the remaining half of the coriander, cinnamon and cumin into a food processor or blender. Add tomato paste, paprika peppers and vinegar and blend everything into a very smooth paste (harissa).

4. 4.

   Stir in the paprika powder and half of the olive oil.

5. 5.

   Fill the harissa paste into a small jar (e.g., canning jar) and cover with some olive oil. Sealed airtight by the oil, it will keep for several months in the refrigerator. The paste must always remain covered with oil – only then does it not spoil.

6. 6.

   For the calamari first remove the tentacles from the body tubes, then cut off the rest of the head so that they still hang on a ring.

7. 7.

   Press out the mid‑located chewing tools from the tentacles with your fingers from below. Rinse the tentacles and let them drain on kitchen paper.

8. 8.

   Pull the transparent fish bone out of the calamari tubes, then peel off the fine skin. Remove or cut off the fins from the tubes.

9. 9.

   Slice the tubes lengthwise with a very sharp knife and remove the entrails. Thoroughly rinse the tubes in cold water and let them drain well.

10. 10.

    Place the calamari on a cutting board with the outer sides down and make diamond‑shaped shallow cuts with a knife.

11. 11.

    Cut the tubes into about 2 cm wide pieces. Halve the tentacles.

12. 12.

    Rinse the cilantro, shake dry and pluck off leaves. Roughly chop the leaves.

13. 13.

    Heat the remaining olive oil in a large heavy pan. Fry the calamari and tentacles over high heat, turning for about 1 minute, salt and pepper to taste.

14. 14.

    Add the harissa paste – the hotter you want it, the more – and stir everything through. Plate the calamari on a dish, sprinkle cilantro over it and serve. It pairs well with toasted bread, couscous or a green salad with pomegranates.