Grilled Lemon Calamari

To prepare grilled lemon calamari, first, take care of cleaning the calamari: rinse them well under running water 1, then gently detach the tentacle cluster from the body with your hands and set it aside 2. Remove the transparent cartilage quill from inside the body 3.

Extract the innards with your hands, carefully washing the inside of the body under running water 4. Peel off the calamari's skin with your hands 5; finally, take the tentacle cluster and remove the eye by cutting it off with a knife 6. You will need about 21 oz of cleaned calamari. For more information on cleaning calamari, you can consult our cooking school "How to Clean Squid".

Now you can move on to preparing the stuffing: cut the bread into cubes and place it in a food processor with a steel blade 7, then add salt, pepper, and the basil leaves, which you have previously washed and dried 8. Add also the grated lemon zest and juice 9.

Pour the extra virgin olive oil 10 and blend until you obtain a rather moist and coarse consistency 11. Take the cleaned calamari and insert the breadcrumb mixture inside with a spoon, making sure to fill them to the bottom while leaving a couple of inches at the top so you can close them up 12.

Next, take the tentacle cluster that you removed earlier, position it at the end of the calamari, and seal the opening with a toothpick, piercing both the edges of the calamari and the cluster; this way, you will anchor the tentacle cluster to the calamari's body and prevent the stuffing from escaping 13. Heat a well-oiled grill 14, then place the stuffed calamari on one side and let them cook for about 10-12 minutes on medium flame 15.

Turn them on all sides to achieve an even golden color 16. Once cooked, remove the calamari from the grill and slice them into pieces 17: your grilled lemon calamari is ready to be served 18!