This is absolutely delicious. It is a must at our big family Christmas
and Easter dinners, not because the dish is classically associated with
these holidays, but because our family loves it, and there would be a
riot if it weren’t served.
This may look like a more complicated recipe, but in fact, once you have
the ingredients ready to go, it is really easy to put together. And
like most stuffings, the one for this dish is really quanto basta, so
adjust to your taste.
The calamari is perfect for stuffing, because it’s relatively neutral
tasting. Props to my mom for the addition of salami, which puts this
already flavorful stuffing over the top. There is a bonus to making
this: It’s another one of those “two-in-one” dishes. When it’s finished
cooking, you serve the sauce over pasta for your primo, and then the
squid is your secondo.
Calamari Ripieni
Stuffed Squid
6 medium squid, cleaned
1 cup (250 mL) bread crumbs
2 oz (60 g) spicy salami, cubed
2 oz (60 g) smoky scamorza
cheese, cubed
1 large egg
1 large bunch fresh flat-leaf
parsley, chopped
1 cup (250 mL) freshly grated
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
4 tbsp (60 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups (750 mL) white wine
Salt and freshly ground pepper, QB
2 cloves garlic
Chili pepper flakes, QB
1 lb (500 g) linguine, cooked (optional)
You can buy the squid cleaned, but make sure it has tentacles on it.
To start, give the squid a good rinse inside and out. Cut the tentacles off and chop them finely.
To make the stuffing: In a large mixing bowl, put the chopped tentacles, bread crumbs, salami, scamorza, egg, half of the parsley, the Parmigiano, 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the olive oil, 1 cup (250 mL) of the white wine and season with some salt and pepper. Get your hands in there and thoroughly mix all the ingredients. The egg will help bind everything. Now this is what I mean about quanto basta: If the mixture is still a bit runny and won’t hold together, you can add whatever you’d like to bind it—more cheese, more bread crumbs, etc. Or if it’s too thick, add more wine—you get the idea.
Gently stuff each squid with the mixture, leaving about 1 inch (2.5 cm) space at the top. Don’t overstuff because when they cook, the squid shrink; you don’t want the stuffing to pop out. Seal the opening by threading a toothpick through it.
In a large frying pan, heat up the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, chili flakes and the remaining parsley. Cook for a minute, until the garlic begins to turn slightly brown. Then add the squid and cook on all sides, until the meat becomes opaque. If some of the stuffing comes out, don’t panic. It won’t go to waste—it will become part of the sauce. Add the remaining wine, and salt lightly. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan with a lid, and cook for about 10 minutes, letting the wine reduce and thicken up and the stuffed squid finish cooking. Then remove the squid.
If you want to serve this with linguine, reserve the sauce and toss with the hot, cooked pasta just before serving.
Per 6 persone
Recipe courtesy David Rocco
From his cookbook: Made In Italy, HarperCollins, 2011