Best Grilled Calamari With Tomato Basil Vinaigrette Recipes

GRILLED CALAMARI ON A BED OF SHAVED FENNEL

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill or grill pan to high heat. In a large bowl, toss the squid with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with olive oil and toss. Brush grill with vegetable oil. Place calamari on grill and cook each side until lightly charred, about 1 minute per side. Remove from heat and place in clean large bowl. Add garlic, lemon zest, chiles, 1/4 of the Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette, the minced parsley, capers, and scallions. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice, to taste. Set aside until ready to use. In another bowl toss the fennel with the olives and 3/4 cup of Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette until just coated. Arrange a bed of fennel on a serving platter and set aside. Into the fennel bowl, lightly toss the baby arugula with remaining vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Arrange a "wreath" of arugula around the fennel. Top the fennel with the grilled calamari. Season with freshly ground black pepper.
• Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette:
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lay each garlic head root side down. Carefully halve each garlic bulb horizontally, revealing the garlic cloves. Lay each garlic head, cut side up, on a small piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle tops with about 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and fold up sides of foil, completely enclosing garlic. Repeat with remaining garlic. Place garlic bundles on baking sheet and bake until cloves are soft, about 1 hour. Remove garlic from oven and let cool about 10 minutes still sealed. Carefully squeeze the soft garlic out of the skins into the bowl of a medium sized food processor. Puree the garlic until smooth, adding a little olive oil if necessary. Leave about 5 tablespoons of the garlic puree in the food processor and store the remaining amount in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. To the food processor, add the mustard, vinegar, remaining olive oil, and water and puree until smooth and emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.

CHARCOAL GRILLED SHRIMP AND CALAMARI WITH GRILLED LEMONS AND SMOKED TOMATO-BLACK OLIVE RELISH

Steps:

• For the relish: Soak the hickory chips in water for at least 1 hour.
• Put a handful of hot coals in the bottom of a smoker. Scatter the hickory chips over the top. Put a try of ice on the bottom grate. Put the cooking grate above the ice tray. Once the temperature of the smoker reaches 100 degrees F, brush the tomatoes with canola oil, season with salt and pepper and put them on the top grate. Close the smoker and smoke the tomatoes for 10 to 20 minutes, depending how smoky you want them.
• Coarsely chop the tomatoes, place in a bowl and add the olive oil, olives, dill, lemon juice, parsley, vinegar, honey, onions and season with salt and pepper. Let the relish sit at room temperature until ready to use.
• For the seafood: Prepare a charcoal grill at least 30 minutes before cooking by lighting a chimney starter filled with hard wood and let burn until covered with gray ash.
• Toss the shrimp and calamari with the lemon juice, olive oil and garlic and let marinate for 15 minutes. Brush the cut side of each lemon half with canola oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Skewer the shrimp and kalamari tentacles onto different skewers. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the shrimp for about 2 minutes per side and the calamari tentacles for about 30 seconds per side. Put the calamari bodies directly on the grill and cook for about 15 seconds per side. Grill the lemons, cut-side down, until slightly charred. Remove to a platter.
• Arrange the skewers and bodies on a large platter. Top with the relish. Drizzle a little more olive oil over the top and squeeze a grilled lemon half over all. Garnish the platter with the remaining grilled lemons.

OREGANO LEMON GRILLED CALAMARI

Steps:

• Slit the calamari tubes up 1 side and lightly score 1 side. Place the tubes and tentacles in a bowl and add the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper and toss to combine. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat a grill pan on high heat.
• Remove the calamari from the refrigerator and place on the grill in batches for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side. Cut the tubes into strips and leave the tentacles whole. Before serving, sprinkle with lemon juice and chopped parsley.

GRILLED CALAMARI WITH TOMATO-BASIL VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• TO MAKE THE MARINADE: In a small bowl whisk together the marinade ingredients. Place the cleaned squid in a large, resealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Press the air out of the bag and seal tightly. Turn the bag to distribute the marinade, place in a bowl, and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. TO MAKE THE VINAIGRETTE: In a food processor combine the tomato, basil, vinegar, garlic, pepper, and salt and process until smooth. With the motor running, slowly pour in the olive oil and process until fully incorporated. Remove the squid from the bag and discard the marinade. Season with salt. Grill over Direct High heat until just cooked, 3 to 4 minutes, turning once halfway through grilling time. Remove from the grill and cut into 1/4-inch strips. Place in a medium bowl and add as much of the vinaigrette as desired. Toss to coat the squid evenly. Serve warm.From Weber's Big Book of Grilling. Copyright © 2001 Weber-Stephen Products Co. All rights reserved. First published by Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco, California.