Here in the Netherlands it’s a bit difficult to find fish, mollusks and the like, but could I not make oven-baked gratin calamari for my blog? Luckily I can sometimes go to a large supermarket where I occasionally find ingredients that aren’t available in regular grocery stores, so here is my recipe.
I also love fried calamari rings or squid rings… who doesn’t? But obviously when you’re on a diet frying is not the best option — even Weight Watchers has its limits! However I had seen so many recipes online for this dish made in the oven that I wanted to try it. I did a bit of research and in the end I preferred to follow what I read in a Weight Watchers recipe: mixing some flour and some breadcrumbs together — it turned out to be a great idea.
The final result was really good. Perhaps I could have reduced the cooking liquid a bit more, but the calamari still came out nice and crunchy and very flavorful. It’s definitely a recipe to repeat, maybe when I go on vacation to Italy where the raw ingredients are easier to find. My Dutch partner rated it a 10, even though it wasn’t fried.
A few other light and tasty fish main courses are here:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Cooking time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 3 regular or 2 generous
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1.3 lbs cleaned calamari (about 1.5 lbs if whole)
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 3/8 cup flour (the calculated points consider half the flour since a lot is then discarded (about 50 g))
- 2 tsp sweet paprika
- to taste salt and pepper
- to taste lemon and fresh parsley (for garnish)
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- to taste lemon juice (half a lemon is enough)
- to taste fresh parsley
- Total points = 19 WW points
- Points per generous portion (divided into 2) = 9 WW points
- Points per normal portion (divided into 3) = 6 WW points
Tools
- Air fryer
- Versilia mini oven
- Small oven
Preparation
First of all, clean the calamari — a tedious but necessary operation. If you can find them already cleaned that’s better, of course. Once cleaned, separate the tentacles from the body of the calamari, cut the body into rings and the larger tentacles into pieces, then put them into a bowl.
Also add the onion, the garlic chopped into pieces, the juice of half a lemon and the finely chopped parsley. Mix and let marinate like this for at least half an hour.
Prepare in a bowl the flour, breadcrumbs, sweet paprika, salt and pepper, and mix well.
Thoroughly drain the calamari from the marinade liquid, dry them on kitchen paper and coat them, a few at a time, in the flour-and-breadcrumb mixture.
Shake off the excess by sifting them through a fine-mesh sieve and place them as you go into a baking dish.
Continue until all are coated, add a little more salt and pepper if desired, and finish by drizzling the oil over the surface.
Bake at 392°F–428°F (200°C–220°C) for about 25 minutes, turning the calamari very gently halfway through. You can skip turning them, but they will then remain soft on the bottom.
If a lot of cooking liquid forms, you can remove it halfway through cooking if you prefer. To give the calamari more color at the end, use the grill/broiler for 5 minutes.
For alternative cooking in an air fryer or on the stovetop, read the Notes at the end of the recipe.
And here is our plate of oven-baked gratin calamari ready to serve. I suggest serving it with fresh parsley and lemon wedges for anyone who wants to squeeze lemon over the calamari.
What a delight: my Dutch partner and I enjoyed them with great pleasure out in the garden, as you can see in the photos. It is truly a nourishing yet light dish.
Split between two people it is quite generous and with a big salad and a slice of bread it makes a good one-dish meal.
Try it and then let me know if you liked it.
Enjoy your meal!
by Giovanna Buono
Notes
Cooking in the air fryer
Miriam cooked the calamari in the air fryer at 356°F (180°C). She wrote: “I don’t remember the exact minute. Usually I do 10 minutes at a time and check, stirring as needed until fully cooked.”
Cooking in the Versilia mini oven
Here’s how Lorella prepared the gratin calamari in the Versilia mini oven:
“I used parchment paper, placed the prepared calamari as per the recipe. Cooked on a medium burner: 5 minutes at the lowest setting and then 25 minutes lowering the flame to just above the minimum. Total about 30 minutes.”
Cooking in the Estense mini oven
Samuel didn’t tell me exactly how he used the Estense but I don’t think it’s complicated since the Estense is a bit like a traditional oven.
