Italian Stuffed Squid, in Tomato Sauce

This happens to be one of my most visited blog posts so as a thank you to ALL my visitors as of July 2013, I decided to update and add a few more photos. I sincerely assure any visitors, that this recipe like all the ones found on this blog, is very simple and tastes absolutely outstanding. Please try it and comment back even if you didn't like the outcome.

When most people think about Squid the word instantly conjures up images of mediteranean holidays and those delicious deep-fried calamari squid rings. The ones with the crisp fresh batter just begging to be drenched with tangy lemon juice, squeezed from freshly cut wedges.

Unfortunately though if not cooked correctly Squid turns into the infamous chewy "squid elastic" which im sure most of us have encountered when eating in the local Greek or Italian resturaunt. Or when trying to faithully recreate the dish we enjoyed on our holidays, at home. More often than not we wrongly blame the ingredients when really it is a question of knowledge or technique.

The trick to achieving perfect squid rings is to firstly make sure you have small calamari squid (larger squid are best left to slower cooking methods). Secondly the oil must be heated to a high temperature and thirdly and the most important of all is to make sure that the squid is cooked for ONLY a few minutes. We are seriously talking no more than 2-3 minutes or else it will be ruined. That is why you need hot oil. In the time the batter cooks and goes golden at a high temperature the squid will be perfect. If the oil is to low the batter will brown in to long a time meaning the delicate squid inside is rubbery. The squid rings are then best served with a wedge of lemon, and taste delicious with lemon squeezed freshly over it. Try!

Squid however is rather more versatile than you think! For example squid ink which is easy to obtain can be added to a basic pasta dough and creates a special black 'squid ink' pasta. This looks dramatic plated and has a subtle, gentle, squid essence (taste) running through it.

Another great Italian squid dish, which is my personal favourite thing to do with squid, is the slightly less well known stuffed squid in tomato sauce. These are whole squids with the heads, tentacles and quills removed, filled with a delicious bread stuffing, fried, and then slowly cooked in a tomato sauce. Often served with Spaghetti.

So if you would like to try doing something a bit different with squid, I gurantee you will find this recipe easy. It is fool-proof and the results are stunning! So this is how you do it!

As a useful tip if you want a richer sauce you could try making a sauce in advance, such as this one and then use this as the sauce base and simply add the fried squid and cook per below instructions. By the way if you do this ignore the Passata sauce in the recipe. If you do not know what Passata is or can not find it. Use good quality chopped tomatoes instead it will work out fine. Hope that helps.


INGREDIENTS:
(serves 4)

4-5 whole squid.  If you have a decent fish monger, purchase the fresh ones. Otherwise I recommend you purchase frozen ones, as then at least you have some knowledge over how "fresh" they are. Supermarket fresh fish counters can be quite variable places. Who knows how long "fresh" fish has been lingering on their counters.

1/4 of a fresh white loaf of Bread (approx 300g)
2 handfuls of flat leaf parsley
2 clove of garlic crushed up
2 anchovy chopped up (optional)
1/2 teaspoon of capers chopped up (optional)
3-4 black olives (pitted/stoned) chopped up (optional)
2 Medium sized egg yolks (keep the whites for meringues, for dessert! etc)
4-5 cocktail sticks (1 per squid, so adjust accordingly)

1 Jar of Passata 500g approx
3 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive oil.
1 clove of Garlic crushed!
Some salt and black pepper to season


METHOD:

- Remove the tentacled heads from your squid bodies, and the skin, and gently push on the bodies to expose the "plastic" quill which is in the middle, then pull it out. Alternatively have your fish monger do it. Put the cleaned squids to one side.

-Next cut the tentacles off the heads, just below the eyes, make sure no "beaks" are still in the tentacles, and rub-off any skin. Keep the tentacles and put to one side! If your squeamish about legs, discard the lot and ignore this step (but that is hugely wasteful, and im sure nobody would throw them!).

- In a medium sized mixing bowl, tear the white bread (avoiding the crust) into small chunks, chop the parsley coarsely and add. And add any of the other optional ingredients (tastes fine even without any optional, trust me). Lastly add the egg yolks and knead the mixture, you will find it binds together slightly. Yes it will look revolting, it won't look particulary nice, dont worry! Season well, and put to one side.

- Ok now your ready to stuff! Grab the squid bodies, open them gently, and using great care, put the "bread" stuffing into them. Take care not to overfill, or they will split, but you do want them to look quite plump. Once filled take a cocktail stick, and gently pierce and "stitch" the open end, so that your effectively sealing it shut with the cocktail stick going through the once open end. Be careful not to tear the skin. Put them to one side!

- In a sauce pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the Olive oil, add the garlic, fry for a few minutes, then add the jar of passata. Cook gently at a simmer and go immediately onto the next step.

-In a frying pan (of suitable size) heat the remaining Olive oil, and GENTLY add the squid bodies, and the tentacles, cook until slightly golden. Take off the heat immediately, and add to the simmering tomato sauce.

-Season the sauce, and continue to simmer very gently, covered, for about 1 and a half, to two hours.  To get the consistency you want, cook the sauce for the last 30 or so minutes uncovered. Remove from heat, and serve with spaghetti, or a pasta of your choice.

NOTE: This is also keeps excellently for reheating, or once cooked the squid and sauce could be easily portioned, and frozen again to have another day.


SERVING METHOD:

Cook some Spaghetti to 'al dente', drain, and add some of the above sauce to the Spaghetti to coat well. Add some of the tentacles to each portion together with one of the stuffed squid. Best served with a fairly robust but mild red wine, such as a merlot, or a sangiovese.

If you wanted, you could also add baby clams, or cockles at the same time as the stuffed squid to the simmering tomato sauce, which would then create a Spaghetti Marinare style dish. Enjoy!

The Easiest To Make Pasta Sauce in the World, Honest!

Let me start by saying, Tomato Sauce is easy to make. It pains me to see supermarket shelves packed full of ready made tomato pasta sauce.

Please stop wasting your money by buying these artificial ready-made tomato sauces for Pasta. You can create any of these yourself with no trouble at all. Once made, you can freeze it for 6 months, or store it in the fridge for 2-3 days no problem.  All of this without any unnatural flavourings, fillers or stabilizers.  To be honest though, I think most people only buy these products because they have never thought about or tried to make the sauce themselves, but you can definately do it! Easily. Trust me..

INGREDIENTS:
1 medium sized onion diced up small,
2 cloves of garlic crushed up, and diced,
800g of chopped tomatoes (either fresh, or two 400g tins)
1/2 teaspoon mixture of dried thyme and oregano,
1 or 2 teaspoons of tomato concentrate,
salt and pepper to season sauce.


METHOD:

-Fry some chopped onion and garlic in a pan, in a little oil,  until nice and soft but not coloured.

-Add the chopped tomatoes, a teaspoon or two of tomato concentrate, the italian herbs, the salt and pepper, and cook, uncovered on a gentle heat for between 10-30 minutes, until you get the desired consistency.

That is it finished.  This sauce can be used right away served on pasta, or can be cooled and stored in the fridge for a few days, or even frozen for later use (upto 6 months later, easily).
However, don't think that is it. This sauce, can be used as a base to lots of other Italian dishes, some of which I will be listing later.  You will be amazed at how easy some of the resturaunt favourites are to make. Enjoy!

A Flavourful Tomato Sauce

Almost all Italians have their own version of a recipe for tomato sauce, this is our families version, and in my opinion (obviously), it is simply the best.  As this needs to be cooked for many hours, it is only something we make a few times a month at most. However like we do, you could make it in bulk and freeze it in portions, or simply keep it in the fridge for a few days.

Personally, I like this sauce served over al dente, 'Zitoni Napoletani', (long pasta tubes).  We break these into 2 inch pieces prior to cooking.  As always, don't overcook your pasta.


INGREDIENTS:

2 cheap, beef frying steaks,
2 garlic cloves, diced up
Handful of fresh flat leaf Parsley, chopped,

700g bottle of Passata.
2 tablespoons of Tomato Puree (also known as tomato paste, or tomato concentrate)
1 teaspoon of a dry mix of oregano, and thyme
1 bay leaf
Some water (200ml Approx),
Salt and Pepper,
Pinch of Sugar,



METHOD

-Get the two pieces of cheap Beef, frying steak, lay one flat on a board, into the middle of it, put some chopped garlic, some chopped fresh parsley. Now roll the steak up, and tie it up with some cotton (yes, any colour is fine). Repeat this process for the second steak.

-In a deep pan, heat some olive oil on a medium high heat, once heated place the rolled steaks inside. Heat gently so to colour the meat slightly, next add the two tablespoons of tomato puree, stir in for a few minutes, then increase the heat slightly.  Next add a bottle of Passata sauce, add some water equivalent to approxmiately three quarters of the volume of the bottle you just added.

-With the heat still on a high heat, stir the sauce, seasoon with salt and pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 3-4 generous grinds of pepper), add the pinch of sugar, and add the herbs, bay leaf, then stir the sauce.

-When the sauce reaches almost boiling point, reduce the heat to a low simmer setting. What we are looking for is a gentle "clocking" simmer, when you are happy its very gently cooking, cover the pan with a lid, and leave alone for around 2 hours, or longer (just the occasional stir is needed).  You could quite safely go away and do something else, in Italy people would traditionally start making a sauce on Sunday morning, and during this period they would go to the church, or clean the house.

-After it has beens simmering for around the 2 hour mark, remove the lid, stir, and then increase the heat slightly, and cook until the sauce reduces to your preferred consistency.  Taste, and adjust seasoning to suit your taste.

-Serve sauce with cooked pasta, and serve with freshly grated parmesan over the top.

As mentioned the leftover sauce, can be cooled and frozen for later use, or left in the fridge for a few days if you want to eat pasta again. Incidentally as is often the case, this sauce can be the base for many other dishes. Some of which I will list later. The steak can be eaten, either seperately or combined into the pasta dish. By the way,  in case your wondering why I recommended cheap steak within the sauce, that is because normally even a cheap cut, will taste as great as a more expensive cut, if gently cooked for hours in an acidic base sauce such as this one. Feel free to experiment. Enjoy!

Fresh Tomato Sauce

This year we have grown a large number of Cuore di Bue and St Pierre tomatoes. Both of these are fantastically flavoured and when picked fresh and slightly green are excellent for salads, however they can become truly exceptional 'cookers' if left to fully ripen on the vine, from which you can produce great tasting tomato sauces with the minimum of effort.

Really I never understand why people purchase ready made artificial tasting pasta sauce from supermarkets, when it is so easy to make your own healthy variety. So should you be in a position of having lots of spare tomatoes, even if its ones from the supermarket, the below recipe is an exceptionally easy and versatile way of making use of them.

All you need is a heavy bottomed pan,  and a spare hour or so.  The results will be far superior to anything you can buy in a jar, and can be portioned and frozen with little flavour loss, for at least six months.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil,
12-15 large Tomatoes  (I would recommend heirloom varities for their superb flavour),
2-3 Cloves of Garlic crushed,
Handful of chopped Fresh Basil,
Salt and Pepper to season,
1/2 teaspoon of Oregano,
1/4 teaspoon of Sugar (optional),
1/4 teaspoon of Tomato Puree/Concentrate/Paste (optional),
 100-150ml of Water

 METHOD:

-Firstly prepare the tomatoes, by criss-crossing the skin with a knife just piercing the skin, plunge them into hot water for 10 seconds, before immediately dunking into iced water.  This will allow you to remove the skins, as you will find they will crinkle, and curl up making it far easier. Once skinned, de-seed and chunk them into a small dice.

-Heat the Olive Oil in a heavy bottomed pan over a medium heat, add the garlic, soften for a few minutes then add the chunked/diced tomato. If the tomatoes are not fully ripe, or are flavour lacking ones from the supermarket you can add a 1/4 teaspoon of tomato concentrate to bolster the flavour (this little trick, really does work trust me). Then increase the heat slightly and cook out the tomatoes.

-After around 10 minutes of cooking, add the seasoning, oregano, the pinch of sugar (optional) and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.  You now continue to simmer the tomatoes, and add some water to keep a good viscosity. I would recommend you simmer for around 30-40 minutes,  taste and adjust the seasoning, and then finish with the Fresh Basil, and cook for a further 10 minutes to infuse the flavours.

This sauce can be used immediately, or can be cooled and kept in the fridge for a few days.  Alternatively this can also be portioned into freezer proof containers and frozen for later use. Its a great standby to have available, and can be used as a base for other sauces. Enjoy!