Lemon myrtle calamari with mountain pepper aioli

This recipe is an original creation from Sam May, drawing inspiration from a technique he learned from his father's friend, Nifty. Nifty used kiwi fruit to tenderise calamari before coating it with a mixture of cornflour and white pepper and frying to golden perfection. Serve with a homemade mountain pepper aioli for dipping.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  2

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

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Ingredients

• 2 whole calamari, cleaned
• 1 kiwi fruit, diced (juice reserved)
• vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• ½ cup cornflour
• salt
• 1 tbsp dried lemon myrtle
• 2 egg whites

Moutain pepper aioli 

• 2 egg yolks
• 2 confit garlic cloves, finely diced (recipe below)
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• salt
• 300 ml olive oil
• 50 ml white wine vinegar
• ½ tbsp ground mountain pepper, plus extra for sprinkling

Confit garlic

• 1 head garlic, cloves peeled
• oil, for frying

Marinating time: 5 minutes 

Instructions

1. To confit the garlic, pour enough oil in a small saucepan to cover the garlic cloves and heat over low heat for an hour or until tender.

2. Use a sharp knife to cut the calamari hoods from opening to tip, then lay flat on a clean work surface. Score the calamari in a small crosshatch pattern, then cut into equal quarters. Cut the quarters into 3 - 4 equal-sized pieces. This will allow the calamari to curl up during the frying process. Combine the calamari with the kiwi fruit and any juices from chopping in a medium bowl and allow to marinate for 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat enough oil to deep-fry in a large, heavy-based saucepan to 180˚C.

4. While the oil is heating, prepare the mountain pepper aioli by blending the egg yolks, garlic, mustard and salt in a food processor to a thick paste. With the motor running, gradually add the oil, processing continuously, to form a thick mayonnaise. Spoon the aioli into a medium bowl and whisk through the vinegar and mountain pepper. Refrigerate until required.

5. Prepare two shallow bowls for coating by combining the cornflour, salt and lemon myrtle in the first bowl. Whisk the egg whites in the second bowl. Dip the calamari in the flour, the egg white, then in the flour and deep-fry in batches, for 2 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from the oil using tongs and place on a wire rack set over a baking tray, to drain excess oil.

6. Transfer the lemon myrtle calamari to a serving plate and spoon in a dollop of the mountain pepper aioli. Sprinkle the aioli with some extra mountain pepper.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

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