CALAMARS FARCITS - STUFFED CALAMARI

This is another very traditional Catalan recipe and every family has its own variation. I have added some mushrooms to mine and a combination of beef and pork mince. It takes quite some time to prepare, so it's certainly a weekend or especial celebration recipe. However, it's worth the effort, it's just delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

6 medium size squid tubes, cleaned and with tentacles and wings kept separate

Stuffing

250g beef mince

250g pork mince

squid wings and tentacles, chopped

10 medium mushrooms, chopped finely

3 boiled eggs, chopped finely

salt and pepper

oil

splash of dry sherry (optional)

toothpicks to secure tubes

Sauce
400g tin chopped tomatoes 
250ml dry white wine
1 1/2 Tbsp pine nuts
2 Tbsp parsley
4 cloves garlic
1 medium onion, chopped or grated
1 fresh bay leaf
flour for dusting
liquid set aside from squid stuffing
250ml water
salt and pepper
2 small red chillies (optional)

METHOD
Put some oil in a frying pan and add the mushrooms. Cook until there is no liquid left and add a splash of sherry if using.

Add the chopped squid tentacles and wings and fry until just tender, about 2 minutes.

Add the mince and mix well. Cook for about 5 minutes.

When the liquid has been reduced by half, turn off the heat. Season well with salt and pepper.

Strain the mixture over a bowl. 

Set aside the liquid for later.

Put the mince mixture in a big bowl and add the boiled egg. Mix well.

Rinse the tubes and pat dry with kitchen paper.

Fill the tubes with the mixture. Make sure you don't over fill them, they will shrink when cooking.

Secure the tubes with toothpicks.

Put some flour on a plate. Dust the tubes with the flour.

Add some more oil to the same frypan and fry the squid until just lightly golden.

Put squid in an ovenproof dish and keep warm.

To make the sauce, put some salt in a mortar and add the garlic. Pound with a pestle until mashed.

Add the chopped parsley and keep pounding until well combined.

Add the pine nuts to the mortar and pound it until a fine mixture. 

Add the liquid from the squid filling mixture and mix well. Set aside.

Put some oil in a clean frying pan and add the onion and the chillies, if using. Fry until the onion is tender, about 6-7 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and the bay leaf. Cook until the tomato has a pulpy consistency.

Add the white wine and cook until the liquid has been reduced by half.

Add the mixture from the mortar to the tomato. Mix well. 

Add the water and season with pepper. 

Bring it to the boil and cook for about 5 minutes.

Drain the sauce over the squid tubes. Use a colander to sieve the solids using the pestle until all solids are sieved onto the pan.

It will take a bit of time, but make sure that all solids have been added to the squid. That is what is going to give your sauce a fantastic flavour! (I chopped the onion and it was harder to sieve. It is much better to grate the onion, that way it will sieve easier.)

Preheat oven to 180C. Put squid with the lid on in the oven and let it cook for about 10 minutes.

Turn over the squid and let it cook for another 10 minutes. 

Take the lid off and cook for a further 5 minutes. Serve with plenty of bread to mop up the sauce.

Serves 4-6