The Recipe for Votapiatto di Calamarelle

Votapiatto di calamarelle is an icon of the peasant cooking of Gaeta. It is neither a simple fry-up nor an omelette: crisp outside, tender inside. Here is how it is made, following tradition.

• What it is: not a simple fry-up, but a compact cake of calamarelle (small local squid), floured and cooked in a pan. The name comes from the gesture of turning the cake over with the help of a plate, as you would with an omelette.
• Ingredients: fresh calamarelle (strictly from the Gulf of Gaeta), plain flour, good extra virgin olive oil, salt.
• Method:
  1. Wash the calamarelle and flour them generously.
  2. The key step: sift them vigorously to remove all the excess flour. They should look clean, not caked in batter.
  3. Cook in a non-stick pan with plenty of hot oil, pressing them down to form a compact layer.
  4. Cook for about 8 minutes per side. To turn it, first drain off the boiling oil, tip the cake onto a flat plate and slide it back into the pan.
  5. Salt only at the end and serve piping hot.
• Full video recipe here: https://scoprigaeta.it/votapiatto-calamarelle-gaeta-ricetta/