Lulas Fritas in the Air FryerCrispy Squid Rings

Every beach bar on the Portuguese coast serves lulas fritas: squid rings, deep-fried and eaten with lemon and a cold beer. The traditional version uses a simple flour coating. In the air fryer, plain flour turns chalky, so this recipe uses a light flour, egg and panko coating that goes properly crunchy.

The key is short, hot cooking. Squid either cooks in under 2 minutes or needs over 30. Anything in between is rubbery.

The recipe

Lulas Fritas in the Air FryerCrispy Squid Rings

Crunchy squid rings made in the air fryer with a light breadcrumb coating, served with lemon and garlic mayonnaise. A beach-bar favourite at home.

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Prep15 min

Cook8 min

Total23 min

Serves4 as a starter

Ingredients

MetricUS

Serves

4

as a starter

½×1×2×3×

• 500 g squid tubes, cleaned
• 50 g plain flour
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 100 g panko breadcrumbs
• Olive oil for spraying
• Salt, lemon wedges
• For the garlic mayo: 4 tbsp mayonnaise, 1 small garlic clove crushed, squeeze of lemon

Method

1. Slice the squid tubes into 1 cm rings and pat them very dry with kitchen paper.
2. Mix the flour with the paprika and a pinch of salt. Set up three bowls: flour, beaten egg, panko.
3. Toss the rings in flour, dip them in egg, then press them into the panko.
4. Heat the air fryer to 200 °C. Lay the rings in a single layer and spray generously with olive oil.
5. Air fry for 6–8 minutes, turning once, until deep golden. Work in batches.
6. Mix the mayonnaise with the garlic and lemon. Serve the squid hot with lemon wedges and the garlic mayo.

Notes

Clear ticks

Tap ingredients and steps to tick them off. Scaling changes the quantities at the start of each line; check the rest by eye.

Make it a petiscos spread

Serve with amêijoas à Bulhão Pato, pastéis de bacalhau and a plate of olives for a Portuguese-style tapas night.

From the shop

What you’ll need

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Cosori TurboBlaze 6 Qt Air Fryer

One of Amazon's best-selling air fryers. The 6 Qt basket fits a batch of pastéis de bacalhau or chicken thighs for four, and the ceramic coating is PFAS-free.

Tip: Size is what matters for Portuguese cooking: 5.5–6 Qt feeds 2–4 people in one batch.

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TrendPlain glass olive oil sprayer

A fine mist of real azeite is what turns air-fried food golden. It's cheaper and kinder to non-stick baskets than aerosol sprays.

Tip: Fill it with a mild olive oil and keep it next to the air fryer.

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Portuguese

Hand-painted Portuguese pottery pitcher

A blue hand-painted ceramic jug, 900 ml, for water, sangria or wine at the table.

Tip: Handmade, so each piece is unique.

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