Recipe – CALAMARI RIPIENI…..dalla sardegna

CALAMARI RIPIENI (STUFFED SQUID WITH ANCHOVIES AND CAPERS

Enjoy a delicious Italian seafood starter with a richly flavourful recipe for baked, stuffed squid from Sardinia Italy.

INGREDIENTS

2 clove garlic, finely chopped – 8 squid, approx 150g each, cleaned and patted dry – 200 g white bread finely chopped crumbs – 40 g tinned anchovy fillets, in olive oil, finely chopped – 2 tbsp capers, in brine chopped –  2 tbsp of pine nuts – 2 tbsp of sultanas – 5 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped – 300 ml dry white wine – 8 tbsp Italian olive oil – 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 170ºC/gas 3/ and clean the squid, remove the heads and empty the squid cavity making sure to remove the stomach then pat dry, remove the tentacles and set the squid to one side.  Finely chop the tentacles and lightly fry them in a pan with olive oil.

2. Soften the anchovy fillets, capers, pine nuts, sultanas and parsley in a large bowl with 100ml of white wine and three tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and mix well together then add this mixture to the fried tentacles. In a separate pan toast the bread crumbs then add to the other ingredients in the pan together with the chopped garlic, lightly stir fry for a minute or two mixing the ingredients together and then remove from the flame.

3. Stuff each squid cavity with the filling and place them on a baking tray closing them with a tooth pick. Drizzle over the remaining wine and olive oil, cover with kitchen foil and bake in the oven for half an hour, removing the foil for the last ten minutes to allow the squid to turn golden.

4. Serve immediately with a fresh parsley and a lemon dressing.

Another serving variation is after they have slightly cooled, cut them into disks and drizzle over the squid an emulsion of Olive oil and orange pulp and then sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.