The stuffed calamari did turn out well, and nicer the next day...Rec...

joanie

Well-known member
of a sort.

I was just fiddling around with this "being inventive" and am so pleased with the reaction of non calamari eaters.

I will have to do it again with measurement notes.

I had some very good quality small calamar with heads in the freezer....rinsed them all.

I used some whiting fillets, about 4 small, skinned and checked for bones

1 egg white

about 3 large spoons pre-whipped cream

about 1 TBL chopped parsley

salt and pepper

1 chicken stock cube

Whiz the fish and any bits of calamar, parsley and egg white together in processor.

Season...I did not use much salt.

Fill a piping bag and squeeze some filling into calamar tubes, becareful not to overfill.

seal off the ends with a toothpick.

Bring chicken stock to the boil and slip a few into the water so it does not cool down.

Boil gently for about 3 mins turn and cook again about 3 mins.

Remove and place in round dish with a layer of sauce on the bottom...(here I had some left over peppercorn sauce made with softened onions and bechamel but a wonderful bearnaise would work very well, any other suggestions)

After all tubes are done, boil the heads for about 3 mins, drain a bit and fill the center of the dish with them.

I then set some lovely oyster mushrooms all about the dish between the calamari and

covered this all with a coating of the poaching sauce thickened with cream and thought this was a big mistake...as it seemed much too salty but a taste of one of the tubes proved that although wonderfully tender the mousseline inside was not salty enough! Decided to leave it all as it was as......

the dish was for the next day. I thought, as it was a trial thing I would either toss it or ????

I served this re-warmed dish with orzo....the calamari was still tender and it was deff. not too salty...much nicer being held over for the night.

AND the non-calamari eaters just wolfed it all down.

 
Thanks for posting...

I'm surprised it was so good the next day. That really is an unexpected advantage.
What else would be good to stuff the calamari with? Maybe spinach...

 
Stuffing the calamri with anything else would be delicious. The difference with the.....

mousseline is that it swells in cooking so a little will go a long way.
The most important fact about doing the dish is to find really top quality smallish size tubes (and head/legs). I tried poaching larger tubes unstuffed once and was not impressed at the chewier way they turned out.
I'll post a super squid vinagrette (salad) soon if you'd like. It's favourite summer standby in the fridge. (I did post it in Epi some time ago, don't know if it is still there.

 
The squid salad would be greatly appreciated...

and i must say that's a pretty fancy stand-by. Here, squid is really a delicacy, and hard to come by. Also, can't be choosy about their size.
Recently I grilled some, and they came out great. I added a subtly vinagrette then, too.

 
Sounds wonderful, as does the salad,recipe please--

I will try that.
A couple of years ago I went to a job with a lot of tubes left by previous cook. Was puzzling over then when one of the clients said his Italian family stuffed them with lots of things--root vegetables, sausage (sounds a bit different), etc. and baked them in a red or white sauce.
I made a stuffing with sauteed leeks, celery, herbs, fresh bread crumbs and crab meat. Used a thin white sauce the first time and later a mornay. Baked about 45 minutes, didn't poach. They were amazingly tender and as you said, even the non calimari people liked them
Interesting, did it once with shrimp and wasn't as tasty, could have been the shrimp?

 
I buy a big frozen block of the calamari. Use in Chinese stir fries, stuffed or salad..REC...

Calamari Vinaigrette

2lbs - 2 1/2lbs squid (1 x kilo)preferably
small variety
Clean and slice squid, (I use the heads too
but don’t slice them if they are small just
make sure the beaks etc are cleaned out)
Place in a large metal or glass bowel and
pour over lots of boiling water to really
cover. Let them stand for a little over a
minute, giving two full stirs. Drain well in
a colander.

Pour over the Hot squid the following
dressing.

a few sprigs of fresh tarragon or 1/2t dried
1 or 2 cloves crushed garlic (depending on
size and strength)
1/2 t dry Colman’s English mustard (or to
taste)
fresh ground black pepper to taste (I use
about six turns on the mill, it may be too
much for you)
1 t salt
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup oil (use an oil with little taste,
either olive or frying oil or 1/2 and 1/2)

Pour into a Ball jar and keep in the fridge
for at least a day. (I try to hide the jar
from the family for at least 3 days, not
always successful, lol)

Plate on a few mixed lettuce leaves, cherry
tomatoes with chopped parsley, chives and a
slice of lemon etc for a smart dinner. Serve
with toast points

We enjoy these drained with a couple finely
chopped slices of fresh Jalopena (not too
hot)a tooth pick (to scoop them out of the
bowel onto the bread) and fresh whole wheat
buttered bread slices with our drinks before
a BBQ
Enjoy

 
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