In 2022, we are in the era of kitchen gadgets. There is a new appliance or tool to help with anything and everything in your kitchen, even frying! Air frying is a new trend that really gained momentum before the COVID-19 pandemic, and since then it is still a popular choice for cooking food.

As a college student, I prioritize speed and health (kind of) when it comes to cooking. With exams, extracurriculars, and all other responsibilities it can be difficult to spend a lot of time cooking a meal that is healthy. Because of that, I find that an air fryer is a must in my college apartment kitchen.

My take on an air fryer is that it is a happy medium between a conventional oven and a microwave. It has the speed of a microwave but gives you the crispness of a conventional oven or fryer without the unhealthy effects of deep frying.

One recipe I decided to try in my air fryer is fried calamari. I had some squid in my freezer that I wanted to use, and I thought that making air fried calamari would be a quick and easy option. All I needed was panko bread crumbs, an egg, flour, and the squid.

To start I had to defrost the squid. This is honestly the most time consuming part of the whole recipe, so my best advice would be to do it sooner rather than later. I defrosted mine by putting it in my refrigerator the morning of the day I wanted to cook it, so that it would be ready by dinner time. At dinner time, it was still a bit frozen, but I just ran it under some cold water and then it was good to go! (If you forget to put it in your fridge with enough time to thaw, you could defrost it in cold water in the sink as a quicker alternative.)

I then got to work setting out my ingredients. Now, usually, I would look up a recipe and follow it measurement by measurement, but because I am in college and this week was crazy busy with assignments, I decided to eyeball everything. I figured whatever I did not have enough of, I could just add more.

In one bowl, I poured some pre-seasoned bread crumbs. In another bowl, some flour. And in the last bowl, one egg whisked. Then onto the squid.

I had one pound of squid, and all of the pieces were the cleaned squid tubes. To get the perfect rings served at fancy seafood restaurants, the technique is actually really easy. Prior to making this recipe, I had zero idea of how calamari came to be in the form of rings. I then learned that all you have to do is cut the tubes like you would slice a cucumber. It is so simple. This part did take me a little more time than I anticipated, but to save time, you could get pre-cut squid.

I then went to work. I started by dipping each ring into the flour, making sure it was fully coated, and then into the egg. From the egg, it went into the panko crumbs that would give it the nice crunch once it was cooked. This process was repeated until all the rings were covered, and then they went into the basket of the air fryer.

The rings are not supposed to touch in the air fryer, so I had to do this in a few batches. This was okay though because each batch took only about five minutes. I placed the rings of calamari into the basket, gave them a quick spray with cooking oil, and put them in the air fryer for about four minutes on one side, and then I flipped them to the other side for another three minutes. I sprayed the other side with cooking oil after I flipped them.

I repeated this until all of the pieces were fully cooked, crispy, and ready to eat! To go along with the calamari, I warmed up some leftover marinara sauce from my fridge and veolia!

This meal was a hit among my roommates! It was easily shared, and everyone thought it was so delicious! The texture of the outside was crispy from the bread crumbs while the inside was firm. The flavor profile was mild and slightly sweet, which paired nicely with the sweetness from the marinara sauce that we dipped the rings into. Although this was my first attempt at this recipe, I think it compares well to calamari that I have had in restaurants. It had the same texture, as well as presentation. In the future, I would lessen the amount of flour and egg wash I do, as I feel as though it created a very thick layer around the squid, which hid the flavor slightly.

Overall, this recipe was super quick, easy, and college friendly! An air fryer is definitely a staple you need to have in your college apartment, or even in your dorm (if your school allows it). It creates so many culinary opportunities, and so many ways that you can include seafood in your college diet. In this case, calamari is a great example of how you can easily incorporate local seafood into your daily college life. As I have explained, it is very simple to make with just a few ingredients and short cooking time, but it is also very affordable. The price of squid can range depending on where it is bought and the season, but overall, it is very affordable and can be found at most grocery stores in the fresh seafood section or the freezer section. This simplicity is not only limited to calamari. One could use an air fryer to make some fish in chips with some local skate, or even some haddock for a rice bowl recipe (you can find this experience in an earlier post!). The air fryer is so versatile and opens up so many doors to exploring ways to incorporate seafood into your college life, but still being quick, easy, and dorm friendly!