Here I am!
Did you miss me? Anyway, I prefer
a plate of calamari to a plate of roast beef the latter being what most people would like to order for their last meal. But I could be wrong.
My favourite way of eating calamari is to have it breaded
and fried. Heaven! However, I prefer to have someone else fry
them- like a cook at a restaurant- because I am not fond of the odour that tends
to linger in the kitchen after having fried any type of seafood. Stuffing them is a nice way to cook them at
home. Italians like to stuff their
calamari with bread crumbs and herbs, while we Greeks prefer a stuffing made with
rice and herbs. It’s all good.
Kalamarakia yemista are usually eaten in the
summer or at Lent time. I am making
these in December, 29 December to be exact, because that’s my birthday, and I
always have calamari to eat on my birthday.
You’ll need to buy small, fresh squid as they are the
most tender. Get mostly the mantle, or
sack-like part of the squid, because that is a cavity, just right for stuffing. If tentacles are included with your purchase, chop them up very well and include them in the stuffing, or bake them along with the stuffed calamari by tucking them snugly into the same pan.
On either side of the squid, attached to the bottom of the mantle, are small fins. Those are easy to remove with a knife, and just like the tentacles, can be chopped up to be included in the stuffing. Whatever you do, my advice is to make sure that you buy cleaned calamari. Cleaning them at home is a tedious and very messy job. I've watched people do it, and I've come to the conclusion that it's not for me.
Most recipes for kalamarakia yemista are similar. One interesting variation is the addition of raisins and pine nuts in the stuffing. My version is simpler, so let's go to the kitchen and make stuffed squid (for my birthday!):
Ingredients:
1 pound cleaned baby squid
tentacles from the squid, some chopped into small pieces, some left whole
1 onion finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 scallions, white and pale green part, finely chopped
3/4 cup long-grain rice
1 cup chicken broth
3 tomatoes, skin and seeds removed and chopped well
Salt and pepper
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh dill
1 tablespoon fresh mint
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 cup white wine
olive oil
pinch of thyme
Toasted pine nuts (optional)
pinch of thyme
- Place the squid in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Pour 1/2 cup of the wine over them, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, and marinate in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
- In a medium skillet heat 3 or 4 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the onions until they are soft. Add the chopped up squid and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and the rice and stir to coat with the olive oil. Cook for about a minute, stirring.
- Add the scallions and 2 of the diced tomatoes.
- Add the chicken broth, the rest of the wine and the marinade from the squid.
- Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low until all the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
- Let the rice cool slightly, then add the herbs and mix well.
- Preheat the oven to 400° F. Prepare the baking pan: Pour the tomato sauce and add the remaining diced tomato on the bottom of the pan. Season with a little thyme.
- Stuff the squid with the rice mixture. This is a job best done by using your hands. Make sure the rice gets to the bottom of the squid cavity, and keep pressing the rice with your fingers so that the cavity is nicely filled You may want to secure the top of each squid with a toothpick so that the rice does not spill during baking.
- Place the squid in the baking pan and roll it around in the tomato sauce. Add the tentacles if you have any left. Drizzle olive oil over the squid and bake it uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Remove the squid from the oven. Have a serving platter ready. Spread some of the sauce from the squid on the platter. Place the squid on top and spoon a little more sauce over them. Sprinkle with the pinenuts if using, and serve.
