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Fish, Maghreb and Middle East

Fried calamari with tarator sauce and salad

Fried calamari with tarator sauce is a seafood dish for 4 people, ready in 40 minutes, rated easy, for about €3.90 per person. The trick is patting the rings fully dry before flouring them and frying them in small batches at 180°C for no more than two minutes, so the crust stays light and crisp.

Crispy calamari rings with a walnut and garlic tarator sauce, just like you'd find on tables across the Balkans and Turkey.

Fried calamari with tarator sauce and salad
Total time
40 min
Difficulty
Easy
Cost per person
€3.90
Calories per person
660 kcalcalculated by Kiloach, your weight coach
Season
Spring, Summer, Fall
The kids
They generally like it

Calamari rings come out crisp outside and tender inside, dunked into a creamy tarator sauce built from walnuts, raw garlic, and soaked bread. Lemon juice brightens the whole plate, and the crunch of tomato and cucumber salad balances the fried bite. It's a hands on dish, eaten with fingers, and kids tend to love it once you tell them the sauce is just bread, walnuts, and garlic blended together.

This is a good pick for a weeknight dinner that feels a bit special, when you want something other than the usual breaded fish without spending the whole evening on it. It also works well for casual entertaining, set everything in the middle of the table and let people help themselves. Kids especially enjoy dipping the rings into the sauce, it turns dinner into a bit of a game.

The ingredients

4 people

Fish counter

  • Calamari rings 700 g

Pantry

  • Flouroften in the pantry 100 g
  • Frying oiloften in the pantry 50 cl
  • Walnut halves 80 g
  • Olive oiloften in the pantry 4 tbsp
  • Saltoften in the pantry 1 pinch
  • Pepperoften in the pantry 1 pinch

Fruits and vegetables

  • Garlic 2 cloves
  • Lemon 2
  • Green salad 1
  • Tomatoes 3
  • Cucumber 1

Bakery

  • Sliced bread 2 slices

Allergens Mollusks, Gluten, Tree nuts

The step by step recipe

  1. Soak the sliced bread in warm water, squeeze it out, then blend it with the walnuts, garlic, juice of one lemon, olive oil, and a little water until you get a creamy sauce.

    Pulse in short bursts, blending the walnuts too long makes them bitter.

  2. Taste the sauce, it should be smooth, tangy, and nicely garlicky, adjust the salt.

    It thickens as it cools, so add a splash of water before serving if needed.

  3. Pat the calamari rings dry, season them, and coat them in flour.

    Shake off the excess flour so the crust stays thin.

  4. Fry the calamari in oil at 180°C in small batches. 6 min

    Two minutes maximum, any longer and they turn rubbery.

  5. Make the salad with the tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, lemon, and olive oil, and serve with the calamari and the sauce.

    Drain the calamari on paper towels and serve right away.

Our tips to get it right

  • Use fully thawed calamari rings that are completely dry, any leftover moisture turns the flour into a thick paste instead of a thin crust.
  • Get the oil properly hot before adding the calamari, at 180°C they brown fast without soaking up too much oil.
  • Make the tarator sauce ahead of time, it tastes better after an hour in the fridge once the garlic has had time to mellow and infuse.

The variations

  • Swap the walnuts for sliced almonds for a milder, less assertive tarator sauce.
  • For a vegetarian version, replace the calamari with breaded vegetable rounds, zucchini or eggplant coated the same way.
  • For a quicker kid friendly version, serve the calamari with just a squeeze of lemon and the tarator sauce on the side, skipping the composed salad.

What to serve it with

  • Warm pita bread for dipping
  • A glass of fresh lemonade
  • Light pilaf rice on the side

Storage

Fried calamari is best eaten right away, it loses its crispness as it cools. The tarator sauce keeps for 2 days in the fridge in a sealed container. Neither the fried calamari nor the sauce freezes well.

Questions about this dish

Can I use a different bread in the tarator sauce?

Yes, stale bread or soaked baguette crumb works the same way. Just squeeze out the water well so the sauce stays thick instead of runny.

Can I make the tarator sauce ahead of time?

Yes, it's actually better that way, the flavor develops after an hour or two in the fridge. Just add a splash of water before serving since it thickens as it cools.

Do I need to thaw the calamari before frying?

Yes, thaw them fully and pat them very dry with paper towels. Rings that are still damp or icy will form a thick paste instead of a crisp crust.

Do kids actually enjoy this dish?

Yes, the crispy rings and mild walnut sauce tend to win kids over once they're willing to dip. You can go lighter on garlic in their portion of sauce if needed.

How long does it take to make fried calamari with tarator sauce and a salad?

Count 40 min in total, prep and cooking included. The recipe is rated “easy”.

How many calories are in fried calamari with tarator sauce and a salad?

About 660 kcal per serving, for a recipe meant for 4 people. Calories are calculated by Kiloach, your weight coach, the app that partners with Mon Chou.

How much does fried calamari with tarator sauce and a salad cost?

About €3.90 per serving, or €15.60 for 4 people, based on average supermarket prices.

What allergens does this recipe contain?

This recipe contains mollusks, gluten, tree nuts. Always check the labels of the products you buy.

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