Calamari Salad with Sesame Seeds, Fennel, Cucumber & Chili

Try this recipe for Calamari salad with sesame seeds, fennel, cucumber and chili. A great way to eat calamari and it even works for those who dislike the texture of calamari. Keep reading.

It’s time for some calamari, this time I am serving it in a salad with Asian flavors. It is fairly simple to make, the base is chopped cucumber, fennel and seared calamari and then I added toasted sesame seeds, cilantro, sesame oil, chili and some seaweed.

The salad keeps for a few hours in the fridge so it is a good dish to have prepared beforehand, also if you’re serving guests who are not big fans of calamari it is a great way to learn to like it since it´s not the dominant flavor of the dish. Some people don’t like the texture of calamari either and since it’s chopped and seared it is not so noticeable.

Calamari salad with sesame seeds, fennel, cucumber & chili
serves 4-6 people as a small tapas or appetizer

300g / 10oz calamari, fresh or frozen
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 fresh red chili
½ cucumber
1 small fennel
2 tsp sesame oil
20g / 0,7oz dried wakame seaweed (can be found in most Asian food stores)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
2 fresh lime

Chop the calamari into cubes and sear in a frying pan with some vegetable oil, season with salt and pepper. Once cooked add the calamari to a bowl and dice the cucumber and slice the fennel and add to the bowl. Dice the chili and cilantro and add together with some olive oil, sesame oil and lime juice.

Bring water to the boil in a pot and add some dried wakame seaweed, let it simmer for one minute, discard the water and rinse the wakame in cold water, then chop the seaweed and add to the salad.

In a dry pan roast the sesame seeds until they are golden, once done add to the bowl and combine all ingredients, adjust flavors using oil, salt, pepper and lime if necessary. Be a bit careful with the chili since it takes a while for the flavors to come forward.