Stuffed Calamari

Calamari ripieni. Stuffed calamari is one of my favorites. And certainly when you go fishing, you catch them fresh, you clean the skin, and you use the tentacles and all of that in the stuffing. But most of you really can buy it just like this. You buy the bodies, the tubes of calamari, nice and clean and ready to go. And these are perfectly fine, and I'll show you how to make the stuffing for those. Put some bread crumbs in there, some grated cheese, boiled egg, chop it just so that gives it a texture, and it will also bind the whole stuffing. Chopped parsley, olive oil, pinch of salt, and some wine. And just mix it until it's all moist, but kind of compact. Let's stuff the calamari now. The toothpick. So you kind of hold the calamari on one side, a teaspoon that will fit into your, and you kind of don't overstuff the calamari, but you slowly put it in. And I'm looking, yeah. This is enough, because the calamari, when it cooks, it bakes, it tightens up, it becomes smaller and it becomes nice and plump, and you don't want it to explode. So we'll put it right in there, and so on down the line, you stuff all of your calamaris. I have plenty. So calamari. You know calamari, when I was young in Istria, I used to go and fish with my uncle, Emilio. He used to go in the evening when it got dark, and what he would have me do is rip ribbons of white cloth from an old sheet, and then I would be in the back of the boat by the with this shimmering kind of tail, and the calamari would float up to sea to investigate what was that moving. They thought it would be something to eat. He had this kind of, it looked like an upside down palm tree full of hooks, and he would throw it in and lasso in the calamari. And what was great about the calamaris, when I had the time, when they were on board and they were still alive, the pigment. I used to play with it. I used to touch it with my fingers, and all of the coloring, the pigment, would move all around the calamari, and I used to have fun with that. You know, these calamaris are delicious because they're small, but they're tough to stuff, so I'm going to get even a smaller, an espresso spoon. I think that should do it. So you know, when you're in the kitchen, common sense, because common sense works. You know, if the spoon was too big, then we need smaller equipment to get it in. But you know what? At the end, the small calamaris are going to be delicious. And you know, I'm finishing the last one, but they do take patience to fill, but you know, then everything that's good needs a little extra work. So here we are. That's done. And let's make the sauce. Parsley, sliced garlic, lemon juice, slices of lemon. This really, when it cooks, it's delicious. You eat pieces of lemon with the calamari, it's really good. Capers, lots of capers, some anchovies. Anchovies are always that extra addition of flavor, but I would chop it just a little bit. Okay, put it in, add a little bit of oil, a little bit of wine. Let's mix this. So this is the sauce that we're going to pour over the calamari and then put them in the oven. Now I see we have some of the stuffing left. Let's pour that over it, and that will kind of incorporate in the sauce and make it denser. And just pour the sauce over all of the calamaris. This is ready to go in the oven just like this. We want a high temperature, calamaris cook quick. There's nothing much else to cook, but you do want to develop a sauce, so a 450 degree hot oven for about, depends on the size of them, half an hour to 40, 45 minutes and they will be done. So the calamaris are done and you see how they plumped up because the actual tube calamari tightens up and the stuffing inside fills the calamari. So now we have the toothpicks and you can remove it for your guests, but you know, your guests can handle it, right? I think so. And here they are just like this. Put them on a nice, beautiful platter. Okay, maybe, maybe one here. This one is mine. I'm going to taste it in a minute, but let's put on the sauce now. And you know, I'm going to put the sauce around it because I kind of like the crunchiness of the lemon of the calamari. I don't want to smother it. Okay, I think this looks good. Now let me fix mine up here. Parsley, some nice fresh parsley, a bouquet just like this. It's like the bouquet of flowers on this beautiful dish. You bring it to the table, let everybody help themselves. This is a great dish, family style. Just advise them that there are the toothpicks in there. You could take the toothpick out just like that. Now let me cut in the middle so you get to see the stuffing. Here is the stuffing. And it certainly looks good. And now let me taste. I like a little piece of lemon as well. And let me cut little capers. Really good. La bontad del mare. The deliciousness of the sea. Just delicious. You can make them in advance and just bake them the last minute. And to that end, I certainly have enough. And I'm going to invite you. But you're going to have to take your own toothpicks out. I'm sorry. So, come. Tutti a tavola a mangiare. To learn more about Lydia, access to videos, and to get recipes, tips, techniques, and much more, visit us online at lydiasitaly.com.