This simple and delicious recipe of squid with onion and tomato is an excellent source of protein and requires little work. In addition, it’s also healthier than other common recipes of squid, which usually involve breading and frying.
Ingredients:
1 whole and clean fresh squid (alternatively 1/2 kilo of defrosted rings)
200 g passata
1 glass of white wine
1 large onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/2 red bell pepper
2 bay leaves
Salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil
Parsley or dill to garnish
Heat some olive oil in a pot or saucepan, chop the onions, garlic and bell pepper, and sauté over moderate heat until softened, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
Cut the fresh squid into bite-size pieces and add it, sautéing it for a few minutes over a slightly higher heat.
Deglaze with the glass of wine and after a couple of minutes, add the tomato and bay leaf. Cover and cook over moderate heat for 40-45 minutes until the squid is tender.
Before serving, remove the bay leaves, season with salt and pepper and decorate with parsley and/or dill.
Tips and tricks:
- The preparation of the squid meat is very particular. To make it tender, it requires a very short cooking time (no more than 5 minutes), or otherwise at least 40-45 minutes. All the time in between gives us a hard or rubbery consistency.
- As in many stews, we can adjust the recipe to our preferences, for example using chili, doing without the pepper, etc.
- The recipe also works very well with shortfin squid. All these species are sometimes sold under the generic name of “calamari”, so even if this gets too technical, it’s worth to be explained: the shortfin squid is cephalopod which is both optical and nutritionally very similar to squid but less appreciated in the market, since its meat is a less tender and the flavor also less delicate. For this reason, its price is much more affordable. There are few differences that allow us to recognize them. The squid is smaller and has a big diamond-shaped fin of 2/3 the size of its full length. The second has instead a heart-shaped fin and it covers only 1/3 of its lenght. In case you are on beach holidays and visit a local market, it may also help you to know that the shortfin squid is called in Spain “pota”, in Italy “totano” and in Greece “frapsaló”.