Photo: Braised Calamari Stuffed with Shrimp, Spinach and Herbs Recipe
Ingredients
For the calamari:
- 11 clean medium calamari tubes, about 5 to 6 inches long
- 1/2 pound peeled, deveined medium shrimp, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped
- 2 cups coarsely chopped baby spinach
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 1/2 bunch fresh oregano, leaves chopped
- 2 pinches crushed red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt
For the sauce:
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large or 2 small onions, finely diced
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 (28-ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes
Directions
To make the calamari:
Roughly chop 3 of the calamari tubes and add to a food processor with the coarsely chopped shrimp and garlic. Pulse into a coarse paste. Remove to a large bowl and add the spinach, eggs, bread crumbs, cheese, herbs, and pinch of crushed red pepper. Season with salt and stir to combine. The mixture should be a little chunky but moist and holding together. Test the seasoning of the mix by making a mini patty, cooking it in a small pan and eating it. It should taste really good! If it doesn't it is probably missing salt. Add more salt, to taste. Divide the stuffing among the 8 remaining calamari bodies and secure closed with toothpicks.
To make the sauce:
Coat a large, wide skillet or saucepan with olive oil and add the onions and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Season with salt and put the saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onions until they are soft and aromatic, about 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 2 minutes until fragrant. Stir in the wine and cook until the wine has reduced by half. Pass the tomatoes through a food mill or puree them in a food processor and add them and 1 cup of water to the pan. Season with salt, to taste, and simmer the sauce for 15 minutes.
Add the calamari to the pan and cook for 20 to 25 minutes turning them over halfway through the cooking time. Remove the calamari from the pan and remove the toothpicks. Reduce the sauce to thicken, if needed. Arrange the calamari on a serving platter and cover with the sauce before serving.
Deliciouso!
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By Aunt Donna
Hackensack, NJ
on April 14, 2013
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Wonderful dish. Paired with Rachael Ray's lemon risotto! Had filling leftover so made patties, cooked them in a skillet and had as leftovers!
By xfildchild
Neptune, NJ
on January 01, 2013
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This was a delicious addition to my family's Christmas Eve dinner! Everyone really enjoyed it! It was a little difficult to stuff the bodies, but everything else was easy. I made them at home, and then transferred them to a disposable foil roasting pan and just warmed them up in the oven when I got to the party. I think I would have liked a little more tomato sauce, so next time I will make more. But it was a huge hit!
By Jupiterfl
Jupiter, FL
on December 18, 2012
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I did a trial run for my Chrismas dinner. I cooked a couple without changing a thing. I liked it but didn't love it. I made the next two, one picatta style and one regular. both were very good because one simple change. Ann slices them on the baise in half like an egg roll,pretty presentation but the problem was the stuffing would fall out and so many of the bites were just calamari or just stuffing. My fix;still slice them on the baise on a cutting board but start at one end till you have about 5 nice slices and lay them over your starch or veg(I used her Giante bean recipe,could not find them so used great northern beansso now each bite is a consistant cali/stuffing. And if your making a few more courses,you can control the portions easier by giving 1 1/2 instead of 2 full tubes And Deffinatly put stuffing in a large zip bag and snip a small tip. I filled each one in a couple of seconds nice and free of air pockets. Deffinatly a crowd pleaser if you like sauted style calimari.
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