Squid in cherry tomatoes sauce, with fresh sweet peas and potato.
One of the dishes that my grandma used to make in the summer, typically on Fridays or Saturdays after Mimí arrivals, was squid or so called “calamari” simply sautéed in a saucepan with extra virgin olive oil, fresh sweet peas and sun-ripen “cieliegini” (cherry tomatoes) harvested in grandpa “Pasquale”‘s farm, who was her beloved husband, and only man of her life,
Sometime she would add some tomatoes sauce that my family would make once a year at the end of summer. It used to be a family tradition passed to us for generations, nowadays disappeared, sadly. I’m going to talk about this in my next post, because I want to revamp this concept as well!
This squid sauce is such a simple and genuine dish. I brings together the freshest ingredients we could find at the time, aside from being so healthy and tasty.
Neapolitans love squid, and we cook it in any possible way, “in casseruola” sautéed, fried “calamari”, grilled or stuffed and baked…
Ingredients
- 1 lbs squid, or so called calamari, cleaned
- 1 lbs sweet peas, still in the pods )
- 1 lbs cherry tomatoes, better if canned Pomodoro Mutti
- 1 potato
- 4 leaves of basil
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
Step 1
Separate the tentacles from the long body of the calamari, if not done already. Slice the body, or calamari tubes into rings about 1/2 to 2/3 inch thick, set aside.
Step 2
In a saucepan, heat olive oil add garlic and basil and let it cook, about 5 minutes. Add the calamari to the pan and sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add white wine and let is steam, about 5 minute.
Add some water, salt and black pepper and let calamari cook for about 10-15 minutes, Calamari is done when it is plump and more opaque. Do not cook on higher heat or for a longer period, as calamari is famous for becoming rubbery.
Step 3
Clean sweet peas and add them to the sauce. Cook for other 10 minutes. If you want to know how to clean see here
Step 4
Combine the chopped potato and cook for about 5 minutes.
Step 5
Combine canned cherry tomatoes, “cieligini”. Simmer on medium low for about 20 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
Enjoy!
Amato | Cibo 