Lutong Pinoy – Easy to Cook Filipino Foods

Ingredients

* 4-6 medium sized calamari tubes, cleaned

Stuffing

* ¼ cup olive oil

* 1 onion finely chopped

* 2 cloves garlic, crushed tentacles from squid, chopped (optional)

* ½ cup long-grain rice

* 2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

* 1/3 cup pine nuts

* 1/3 cup currants

* ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley salt and freshly ground black pepper

* ¼ cup olive oil, extra

* ½ cup white wine

* 1 ½ cup tomato juice heated

Procedure

1. To clean calamari: Pull away the insides including the quill, from the body. Wash the tubes thoroughly and using salt on hands to make the task easier pull away the outside skin. Rinse again and dry on paper towels. (Cleaned calamari may also be purchased. Simply wash the tubes and pat dry.)

1. To make stuffing: Heat the oil in a large frying pan; and add onion and garlic and cook until soft but not browned. Add tentacles if using (see Note), rice tomatoes pine nuts, currant parsley, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

1. Preheat oven moderate 180 degree centigrade. Fill calamari three-quarters full with stuffing, leaving room for the rice to swell. Enclose the open end using a needle and cotton thread, or a toothpick.

1. Heat extra oil in frying pan. Cook calamari over high heat for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to an ovenproof dish; add wine and hot tomato juice. Cover and cook for 1 ¼ hours or until calamari is tender. Remove, cut away thread or take out toothpick. Set aside; keep warm. Reserves cooking liquid.

1. Place reserved liquid in small pan; bring to boil and boil for 10 minutes or until sauce thickens and reduces by half. Serve calamari, thickly sliced, with reduced tomato sauce. Accompany with snake beans and salad, if desired.

NOTE:

Stuffed Calamari may be cooked up to a day ahead and then refrigerated. Reheat with sauce in slow oven. Do not freeze.

If calamari is purchased with head attached, the tentacles maybe used. Cut the head from the tentacles just below the eyes. Discard head, remove break from center of tentacles, trim off suckers, chop tentacles in small pieces. Stuffing fills four 125 g calamari hoods. If baby calamari is used, mixture fills 10-12 tubes.