Stuffed Calamari Heads
Many people might be turned off by cooking or working with calamari or squid, but believe me when I say that, when cooked right, calamari is absolutely delicious. It has a subtle flavor, has a good deal of lean protein, and has a wide range of culinary uses that go beyond simple fried calamari.
Today, I’m going to show you a way to prepare stuffed calamari that makes for a delicious dish.
Serves 4
Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
For the Calamari:
1 cup of breadcrumbs
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon of olive oil, plus more for frying
Up to 4 tablespoons of milk
Salt
12 whole calamari, heads and tentacles separated. (Most of the calamari you get in grocery stores come prepared this way.)
14 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
For the Topping and Serving:
5 ounces of breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
Olive oil, to fry the mixture
1 pound of small pasta such as shells or fusili
Start by making the stuffing. Combine the breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, and olive oil in a bowl. Add some milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the breadcrumbs are moistened but not dripping. Season with salt, then chop the calamari tentacles into tiny pieces and fold that into the breadcrumbs.
(This next part gets a little bit gruesome, so I chose not to show it.)
Open up the calamari heads and load each head with a generous amount of the stuffing, almost making it look like an inflated balloon. Use a toothpick or small skewer to tie the opened ends of the heads together.
Heat a thin layer of oil in a wide frying pan, as wide as you have, then sear the calamari over medium heat, turning them now and then, until they’re browned on all sides. Add the tomatoes and enough water to almost submerge the calamari. Cover the pan and let that simmer for an hour.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a separate pan from the pan used to cook the calamari, heat the breadcrumbs for the topping with the parsley, garlic, and a drizzle of olive oil until the breadcrumbs get toasty and golden. Remove to a plate lined with a paper towel, then set aside.
Cook the pasta according to the directions for al dente, then drain. Once the calamari are tender, remove from the pan and let it cool before a minute before thinly slicing and laying onto a serving platter with at least half of the sauce. Toss the pasta with the remaining sauce, then dump that onto a platter and top with the breadcrumb mixture.
In Italy, it’s traditional to serve the pasta first as an appetizer and the calamari later on as the main course, but the Italian police won’t come knocking at your door if you decide to serve the pasta and calamari together.
I’m telling you, once you give this stuffed calamari dish a shot, it might get you to open up a bit more about these cephalopods. The calamari themselves are very tender and have a nice amount of flavor from the stuffing, and then that rich tomato sauce flavored with the calamari comes in to make the dish even better!
