This dish is simple and full of flavour. Calamari is simply stuffed with Greek feta, herbs and its own tentacles.
(Recipe is below the photos)
Calamari has been cleaned of its internal organs, washed and drained.
The tentacles are chopped into small pieces, these will form part of the stuffing.
Garlic to be cleaned and chopped.
Greek Feta cheese is soaking in a bowl of water to remove some of its saltiness.
Chopped calamari tentacles, garlic are sauteed in olive oil. Parsley and fennel are washed and chopped finely and added to saute.
Then allowed to cool, before mixing with feta.Salt and drizzle the calamari with olive oil and place in baking tray.
Then stuff with cheese & herbs.
Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until cooked.
Dinner was delicious, albeit some parts were a little salty- you don't want to be too heavy handed with the salt when salting the outside of the calamari.
Ingredients:
4 large Calamari ( about 1- 1.2 kg)
250g Greek feta
3 large cloves garlic finely chopped or crushed
1 handful of parsley finely chopped
½ handful fresh dill chopped finely.
Salt / pepper
Olive oil for sautéing drizzling & baking.
Toothpicks
Method.
Clean the calamari of its internal organs. Gently place your fingers between the hood and the internal organs and push the hood away from the insides. Now remove the internal organs by pulling on the head. Get your fingers into the hood and remove the transparent flexible “backbone” and any other internal remnants. Pull the internal organs away from the inner mouth part until it’s totally clean. Throw away the internal organs and keep the head. Now trim the flesh of the inner mouth parts away from the eyes- these will be used in the stuffing, then use your fingers to squeeze out the black beak from the mouth and discard. Cut the tentacles close to the base of the eyes and reserve these also for the stuffing. Throw away the eyes.
Wash everything thoroughly and place in a colander to drain.
Chop the tentacles and mouthparts into small pieces. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a small saucepan on medium heat. Add to a saucepan the chopped calamari pieces. Sauté a minute then add the garlic, parsley and dill. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until most juices have evaporated. Place in a clean dish and set aside to cool.
Place the feta in a bowl of water and let it stand for 10 minutes to remove some of its saltiness. You can skip this step if the feta is not too salty.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
When the cooked calamari tentacles have cooled, add the feta and mash it in with a fork until it is well blended into the calamari.
Drizzle a little olive oil into the calamari hoods. Lightly salt the OUTSIDE of the hoods only. Use a spoon to fill each hood with the feta and herb stuffing. Make sure they are not overstuffed.
Use toothpicks to sew the ends and to prevent the stuffing from coming out.
Place in a baking dish lined with greased proof paper which has been lightly coated in olive oil.
Drizzle over the top with olive oil. Add frshly cracked pepper on top. Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until cooked.
Serve with a fresh garden salad, Greek salad or roasted vegetables.
Enjoy,
NG
