Scartosso de pesse
Venetian paper cone of fried calamari
The scartosso is a paper cone filled with seafood hot from the fryer. In Venice the filling changes with the catch, from small fish and shrimp to squid. The cone, as much as any fixed mix of seafood, gives the street food its name.
Calamari are cut into rings with the tentacles left whole. A thin dusting, shaken almost bare before frying, leaves a crisp veil around the squid rather than a heavy shell. Salt it as it comes out of the oil and eat it at once; the difference between crackling and limp is measured in minutes.
Ingredients
- 800 g(about 1¾ lb)cleaned calamari, bodies and tentacles (see note)
- 100 gall-purpose flour, for dusting
- about 1 liter(1 quart)peanut oil or another neutral frying oil
- fine sea salt
- 4food-safe paper cones or sheets of parchment to fold into cones
Kitchen notes
- Calamari
- Choose small to medium squid if possible and use both bodies and tentacles. Buy them cleaned from a seafood counter or use fully thawed frozen squid; either way, dry them thoroughly before flouring. The 800 g weight is after cleaning.
- Scartosso
- Scartosso refers to the food-safe paper cone holding the fry, not to a special batter. Venetian cones may contain mixed small fish, shrimp, squid, or seasonal vegetables. Use plain food-safe paper or parchment, never printed paper in contact with food.
Method
Prepare the calamari
- Cut the bodies crosswise into rings about 1 cm (⅜ inch) wide; leave small tentacles whole and split large clusters. Pat every piece very dry with clean towels. Moist squid makes the flour clump and the oil spit.
Heat and flour
- Pour 4–5 cm (about 2 inches) of oil into a deep, heavy pot, leaving ample headroom, and heat to 355°F (180°C). Set a rack over a tray. Working one frying batch at a time, toss some calamari with a little flour in a wide bowl or sieve, then shake off nearly all the loose flour. Do not leave floured squid waiting while later batches cook.
Fry in batches
- Lower a loose single layer of calamari into the oil; do not crowd it. Fry just until the coating is pale gold and crisp and the squid is opaque, about 2 minutes, adjusting for the size of the pieces. Lift out, drain briefly on the rack, and salt immediately. Let the oil return to 355°F (180°C) before the next batch.
Fill the cones
- Divide the hot calamari among the paper cones and serve at once. Keep the cones open at the top so steam can escape.