Rabas a la Romana

Rabas a la romana are the classic bar appetizer of Buenos Aires, eaten in every porteño café with a cold beer before the main steak arrives. Squid tubes are cut into rings, dipped in a light batter of flour, egg and seasoning, and deep-fried until golden and crisp. Both the word rabas (from Cantabria in northern Spain, where it means fried strips of squid or cuttlefish) and the batter style a la romana are Spanish, carried to the River Plate by Spanish immigrants rather than Italian ones. Served with lemon wedges and salsa criolla (a fresh relish of diced onion, tomato and bell pepper in vinegar), they are the shared plate of every Argentine bar table, ordered before anyone looks at the steak menu.

Golden, shatteringly crisp squid rings, tender within, the batter thin and light, eaten hot with a squeeze of lemon and a spoon of sharp salsa criolla. The crunch and the tender squid, the cold beer beside, the noise of the bar.

The technique is a light batter fry. Squid tubes are cleaned and cut into 1cm rings. A thin batter of flour, egg, water, salt and sometimes baking powder is made. The rings are dipped and immediately dropped into oil at 180 degrees C, fried for 2 to 3 minutes until golden. The batter must be thin (thick batter makes a heavy coating that overwhelms the delicate squid) and the oil must be hot (cool oil makes greasy rings). The squid cooks quickly; overcooking makes it rubbery. Served immediately with lemon and salsa criolla, the rings must be eaten hot, as they lose their crunch within minutes.