Stuffed calamari
- 12 large squid tubes
- 2 large onions, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons, plus 1/2 cup olive oil, plus 1/2 cup
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup grated pecorino, plus 1/4 cup
- 1/2 cup ricotta
- 1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
- 1/2 cup Italian finely chopped parsley, plus 1/4 cup
- 6 cups bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 12 toothpicks
- Tomato Sauce, recipe follows
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Clean the 12 large squid tubes; remove skin and cartilage inside the squid and rinse and clean. In a large pan saute onions in 2 tablespoons olive oil until soft. In a large bowl, combine the Sauteed onions, 1/2 cup of olive oil, garlic, 1/2 cup pecorino, 1/2 cup ricotta ,1/2 cup kalamata olives, 1/2 cup parsley, and the bread crumbs and mix well. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of oil to make the bread crumbs soft. Fill the squid tubes with the mixture and secure with a toothpick at the top opening. Lay the tubes in a baking pan with a little oil in the bottom of the pan, add the white wine and bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from oven and top with tomato sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of pecorino and an additional 1/4 cup of parsley. Put pan back in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted, 10 to 15 minutes.
Tomato Sauce:
- 28 ounces canned, crushed tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup finely chopped basil
- 1/8 chopped capers
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- dash of balsamic
In a large frying pan, mix crushed tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt, pepper, capers and sugar. Add balsamic last. Cook for 5 minutes and set aside.
Year after year my Calamari are tough, we stuff them, brown them add to sause and cook…any suggestions? Will definitely be using your recipe this year
Hi,
You have to cook it quickly and never overcook it. You can marinate the Calamari in some buttermilk overnight or marinate the Calamari in some lemon juice for about 30 minutes to help tenderize it. The cooking time in my recipe will vary according to your oven, check to make sure it isn’t overlooked. Thank you for the question, enjoy.
exelent recipe!!! thanks!!
So then do you just spoon sauce over the calamari or do you bake it more with sauce on it. Seems like the end of the recipe is missing 🙂
Add the sauce. Then add the last of the cheese and parsley and re-enter oven to melt cheese. As always different ovens require different times. Always test or watch the calamari to not overcook. Cooking Times of the recipe can vary. Thank you for your comment.
Chef Jeff