Stuffed Squid

Flavorful stuffed squid braised in tomato sauce until super tender

We are all big fans of Calamari (squid for the rest of you) here in the Simply Sunday’s household

Actually, if I was going to order Calamari in an Italian neighborhood it might sound like:

“I’d like some Galamad!” (Gal-a-Mad!)

Phonetically speaking of course

Now, typically you get this fried in rings (sliced from the mantle) and the tentacles as well and it is very delicious

However there is another delicious way to serve this that we first had in an Italian restaurant in Boston

It is stuffed squid that is basically braised in a tomato sauce

Now I’m going to give you the rule of thumb for cooking squid

You should either cook it fast in a fry or saute or slow in a sauce

Otherwise, it can become rubbery and chewy

I have heard it a million times

“You like squid?”  “It’s like rubber!”

That just means it was cooked incorrectly

The base of this dish is a good sauce so lets start there

We will need two 28 ounce cans of crushed tomatoes, 3 garlic cloves ( sliced), 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley, 1 teaspoon each of kosher salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder and 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes

Add the olive oil to an oven proof pan over medium heat

Add the garlic and crushed red pepper

Cook for around 2 minutes moving constantly to avoid burning

Add in the crushed tomatoes

Next add in chopped fresh parsley and the seasonings

Stir together and allow to simmer while you work on the squid

We have 8 whole squid

Some of the prep has been done, but there is more to do

We need to separate the squid into usable and unusable parts

Sometimes the ink quills are also intact and need to be removed

These will be long clear straw like parts that will be inside the mantle (the ink quills are not pictured here)

Basically, I pull the wings off and discard, cut the tentacles away from the head (keep the short tentacles, discard the head)

Each squid will have 2 very long tentacles that I remove and discard as well

These are the cleaned mantles that we will set aside for now

If you slice the mantle along its width, you would get the rings used in fried calamari

Time to work on the filling

To start, we will need the tentacles (chopped up), 4 garlic cloves and 1/2 teaspoon each of kosher salt, ground black pepper and crushed red pepper flakes

I like to grate the garlic

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over medium heat

Add in the chopped tentacles, garlic and spices

Saute for 2 minutes then remove from heat

Preheat your oven to 375 F

Next we will need 3/4 cups of plain bread crumbs, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup of the sauce we made and some fresh parsley

Add the bread crumb, parmesan, sauce and chopped parsley to the pan

Mix all the ingredients together

Using a teaspoon and your fingers scoop the bread crumb mixture into the squid

I use around 2-3 teaspoons of stuffing to start then you can go back and add to each one until there is no more bread crumb mixture

Try to leave a little gap at the end because the bread crumb mixture will expand

Secure the ends with tooth picks

Toss the squid gently in the sauce to coat

Then start placing them in a single layer

Be sure not to overcrowd them

Cover and place in the oven

Bake for 30 minutes

The squid should be very tender

Remember to remove the tooth picks

We sliced the squid and gave it a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

We served this with a side of pasta

Enjoy!!!

Tools used to make this recipe

Wilton Recipe Right 3 Piece Cookie Pan Set

Architec Gripperwood Cutting Board

Lodge Cast Iron Pan

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