CALAMARI!!! Abundant and delicious. One of the most popular of all Italian Seafoods it lends itself to many different recipes. Calamari Fritti is the one most widely eaten but there are many way to cook Squid. I’d like to share one with you and needs a hot oven to cook it in (an outdoor grill with the cover down even better because you get that smoky flavor too!). CALAMARI AL FORNO CON PANGRATTUTO, Squid Baked with Breadcrumbs!!! Now don’t shake your head, this isn’t breaded calamari but a simple mix of garlic, olive oil, fresh parsley, lemon, peperoncino, plain breadcrumbs and yes…Pecorino Romano. Follow me, that old wives’ tale about never pairing Italian seafood with cheese has 1000 exceptions. This is one of them. It’s integral to the dish. Since it’s December I’m all about the traditional Southern Italian-ItalianAmerican La Vigilia Seafood dinner on Christmas Eve. Last year I overbought calamari and had some whole ones in the fridge after Christmas. Didn’t want fried calamari again since we had much of it on Christmas Eve so I came up with dish using some easy ingredients. Let get into the kitchen.
3/4 LB SLICED FRESH CALAMARI (SQUID) RINGS AND TENTACLES
1/4 CUP EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
6 SLICED CLOVES OF GARLIC
2 TABLESPOONS FRESH PARSLEY
JUICE OF 1/2 FRESH LEMON
PEPERONCINO
KOSHER SALT
1/3 CUP PLAIN ITALIAN BREADCRUMBS TOASTED IN A DRY PAN, COOLED, THEN ADD 2 TBS. GRATED PECORINO ROMANO AND MIX TOGETHER WITH A LITTLE OLIVE OIL, RESERVE
PreHeat your oven to 450 degrees F. Rinse the calamari in cold water, drain, pat dry with paper towels. In a heavy pan heat all but 1 tbs of the olive oil. Add the garlic and saute’ until fragrant, about 2 minutes being careful not to let it burn. Add the squid and saute’ for only 1 minute on high heat. Remove from heat, add the parsley and a good pinch of peperoncino…Toss well, then place into a baking pan with the additional olive oil. Top with the breadcrumbs , drizzle with olive oil, pinch of salt…and into the hot oven for no more than 6 minutes. Test the calamari for doneness, should be tender. When it’s done simply blend in the toasted breadcrumbs from the top and drizzle with the fresh lemon juice. Serves 3-4. It’s amazing. If you need more cooking time only go maybe another 2 minutes in the hot oven. Serve with lots of Italian bread. You can do this all on an outdoor grill too.
A FOOD OBSESSION 