TRUST me on this one. It is GOOD!
Happy Monday!! Another new week, which calls for a ton of new recipes. I spent my weekend cooking up a storm, and I'm so happy with the outcome of some new tasty dishes.. Just in time for the heat & summer parties.
As some may know already, it is with a heavy heart to say that I lost my Nanny this weekend. Although we were not blood related, she was in my life since I was a baby, and was that 3rd grandma that not many people can say they have. Since I don't want to bring the mood down, I thought I'd share my favorite (funny) story of her, and it's certainly one that will describe her personality in a nutshell!
So, she used to live in the basement apartment at my Dad and step moms, Pattys, house. One night when I was about to go home, I hear Patty freaking out as she's talking to her mom (which is Nanny). Apparently, the Nanny fell in her apartment and broke her wrist earlier in the day, and when Patty went down to say goodnight, she noticed the bone in her wrist poking through her skin! Like... SO clearly broken and not right! But the best part is, Nanny said "it's fine.. It's nothing," and decided not to tell anyone until about 9pm at night.. when this happened so much earlier day. And you know what time Patty had be up for work the next morning? 4am. Yes. 4 AM! So, it goes without saying Patty was not only concerned for her wrist, but was also furious that she waited until the end of the night to share this news.. which only resulted in them running to the hospital to spend most of the night there fixing her up.
If you know the Nanny, you'll understand that this was the perfect timing she always had, and even in a situation so terrible (like literally breaking your wrist), she would somehow make us laugh at the way it was done. Not many people I know can break their arm, keep it to themselves quietly so they don't have to bother anyone, while being in extreme pain. And then laugh about it with us after. Only the Nanny. She was one of a kind and we'll miss her terribly <3
Anyway, back to this Calamari- a dish I used to love so much. When I found this original recipe, I was quite intrigued as I would NEVER think it was possible to make a veggie version of a straight up all fish dish. BUT, it has been done! And it's strangely similar. Like so similar- the texture is just like the calamari, but less chewy. FREAAAAKY! But so amazing. Please trust me on this one!
Thanks for reading! Xo Sam
I N G R E D I E N T S:
- 1/2 pound of King Trumpet mushrooms
- 1/2 cup of flour
- 1/2 cup of panko breadcrumbs
- Dash of garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp of Old bay seasoning
- 1/4 tsp of sea salt
- 1 cup of almond milk, or any dairy free nut milk
- Lemon + Fresh parsley, to serve!
- Vegetable oil, to fry
PREP: In a large pot, add enough oil to deep fry (about 1-2 inches worth). Heat this over high just as you're finishing up the mushrooms as it takes some time to heat up, but you don't want it to be sitting there on for tooooo long. In a medium size bowl, add the flour, breadcrumbs, garlic powder, seasoning & salt. Mix well. In a separate bowl, add the almond milk.
MUSHROOMS: You can do this 2 ways, or both like I did! One way is shredding/peeling the almonds in long, thin strips with your fingers. The other way is to slice the mushrooms horizontally into round circles and poke/cut out the centers with a small knife. Once that's done, it's now a good time to start heat the oil! Just a few at a time, first dunk some of the mushrooms in the milk to absorb and wet, and now coat in the breadcrumb-flour mixture. Repeat & set aside until all completely coated.. and oil is super hot!
"CALAMARI": Once the oil is hot (you can test by just placing one small piece of mushroom in and see if it submerges & rapidly bubbles/fries), we can begin frying! In small batches, carefully drop in the breaded mushroom pieces, and fry for about 2-3 minutes. You'll know they are done when they are completely golden and crispy! When done, place them on a plate lined with paper towel to absorb excess oil. Repeat until all is fried up.
While still hot, top with a generous amount of salt (mmmm) and an additional sprinkle of Old Bay seasoning. OH! And you must squirt some fresh lemon over the batch, and dip em in some hot marinara sauce. UGH YUM! You won't believe these are made of mushrooms! Seriously!