Sauce:
2 large ripe tomatoes
1 small onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 Tbs olive oil
200mL white wine
salt and pepper
Stuffed squid:
2 large squid weighing about 550g each
3 eggs (2 of them hard-boiled, peeled and chopped)
1 cup (loosely packed) torn bread without crusts from a Continental-style loaf
60g chopped Kalamata olives
1 Tbs capers, rinsed and chopped
2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
grated zest of 1 small lemon
2 Tbs chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
100mL milk (if required)
Salt and pepper
To make the sauce, score the tomatoes on their bases and grate with a box grater. In a large saucepan over a medium heat, fry the onion and garlic in the oil for 5 minutes until soft.
Add the wine and reduce it for 3 minutes, then stir in the grated tomato and some salt and pepper, and turn off the heat.
To clean a squid, gently pull the tentacles away from the body; the intestines should come at the same time. Cut beneath the eyes to remove the intestines from the tentacles, then push out the beak in the centre of the tentacles. Pull out the transparent quill from inside the body. Slice the wings off the body.
Peel the skin from the body and wings. Rinse the tentacles, wings and tube inside and out. Dice the tentacles and wings to include in the stuffing.
Crack the raw egg into a large bowl and whisk. Mix in the diced squid and the remaining ingredients.
Milk can be added after combining bread with the other ingredients. If the bread doesn’t moisten enough with oil and vinegar from the capers, some teaspoons of milk will help soften the mixture.
Stuff into the squid tubes, making sure the filling is not too loose but also not too compact, as it will expand and can split the tubes during cooking.
Reheat the pan of sauce. Scrape the sauce to the sides so that when you add the squid, it touches the pan.
Lightly brown the squid tubes on two sides. Return the sauce around the squid and mix in 100 mL of water.
Cover with a lid and simmer over very low heat for 40 minutes, adding more splashes of water if the sauce dries out.
Slice each squid tube on an angle into 4–5 pieces each.
Serve the slices with the sauce, together with crusty bread and a salad or side dish.
Credits: Malta by Simon Bajada, published by Hardie Grant Books. RRP$45.00
Photo Credits: Malta by Simon Bajada, published by Hardie Grant Books. RRP$45.00
