Milu Monday - Oven-baked Calamari!

Oven-baked Calamari

Ingredients:

• 50ml cooking oil
• 2 medium onions (peeled and grated)
• 2 cloves garlic (peeled and chopped)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1kg calamari (cleaned and thinly sliced)
• salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 sprigs flat-leaf parsley (chopped)
• 10ml ruby port
• 150ml dry white wine
• 1kg potatoes (peeled and thinly sliced)
• cooking oil (for deep frying)
• 100g gouda or cheddar cheese (grated)

Bechamel Sauce:

• 100g butter or margarine
• 100g cake flour
• 500ml milk
• salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C
• Prepare the Bechamel sauce and set aside
• Heat the cooking oil and fry the onions, garlic, and bay leaves until the onions are golden brown
• Add the calamari, salt, pepper and parsley and cook for about 5 minutes
• Add the port and white wine
• Cook until the calamari is soft, about 10 minutes
• Deep-fry the thinly sliced potato in cooking oil until golden
• Remove the potatoes and place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil
• Spoon a layer of Bechamel sauce into an ovenproof dish, followed by a layer of potato, a layer of calamari and then another layer of Bechamel sauce.
• Repeat until all the ingredients are used up, finishing with a layer of sauce
• Sprinkle with cheese and bake in the oven for 10 minutes, or until golden brown on the top.