Calamares a la Andaluza are squid tubes cut into rings, coated in seasoned flour, and flash-fried in abundant olive oil until golden and crisp. Served with lemon and alioli, they are the signature dish of Madrid's bocadillo de calamares (the fried-squid sandwich) and a staple of every Andalusian fryer.
Calamares a la Andaluza are named for Andalusia, where the Spanish frying tradition was born, but they are beloved across Spain — most iconically in Madrid, where the bocadillo de calamares (a crusty roll filled with hot fried squid rings) is the ritual meal around Plaza Mayor. The Andalusian method — light flour coating, abundant olive oil, high heat, brief frying — is what makes the rings crisp and the squid tender.
A pile of golden rings, shatteringly crisp. The squid inside is tender and sweet; the flour coating is light and seasoned. A squeeze of lemon, a swipe through alioli. Eat them hot, with bread — or stuffed into a crusty roll for the classic bocadillo.
The squid rings must be patted completely dry (water ruins the oil). The flour coating must be thin and well-shaken (excess flour turns pasty). The oil must be hot (180°C) and the frying very brief (90 seconds to 2 minutes), or the squid turns rubbery. Salting after frying keeps the squid from weeping.
Variations
Some add baking powder to the flour for extra lift; some serve with alioli; the bocadillo version is eaten with no sauce, just lemon.
On the Palate
Where Calamares a la Andaluza sits in the Spanish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 20 min active + 10 min waiting
- 14 min
Clean 600 g squid tubes; cut into 1-cm rings; pat completely dry.
Watch outPat the rings bone-dry before flouring — any surface water makes the oil spit violently and steams the coating soft instead of crisp.
- 22 min
Season flour with salt and a pinch of baking powder; place in a wide bowl.
- 33 min
Dredge rings in the flour in batches; shake off all excess in a sieve.
- 43 min
Heat olive oil to 180°C in a deep pan.
- 54 min
Fry rings in batches, 90 seconds each, until golden; do not crowd.
Watch outFry hot and fast, ninety seconds only — hold the oil at one-eighty and don't crowd, or the squid turns to rubber.
- 61 min
Lift out with a skimmer; drain on paper.
- 71 min
Sprinkle with coarse salt immediately.
Watch outSalt the instant they come out, while still glistening with oil — salt on hot rings sticks and seasons; wait and they weep and go soggy.
- 81 min
Serve at once with lemon wedges and alioli.
