Calamari Marinara

Description

Calamari has an unfair reputation for being tricky to work with and that it’s rubbery when cooked. Here’s the secret: cook it in 45 seconds or 45 minutes–very quickly or a long slow simmer. For this marinara dish, I use the long simmer method.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, sliced thin
  • 1 serrano chile pepper, sliced thin
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
  • 1 anchovy fillet
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • 1 cup clam juice
  • 6 cups crushed or pureed Italian plum tomatoes
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 pounds frozen calamari (tubes and tentacles), thawed, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
  • ¼ cup freshly chopped Italian parsley
  • 1 tablespoon Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  • 1 (16 ounce) package dry pasta

Instructions

  1. Drizzle olive oil into a saucepan. Add onions
  2. chile pepper
  3. garlic
  4. anchovy filet
  5. red pepper flakes
  6. and salt; place over medium-high heat. Stir and cook until onions and garlic just start to turn golden
  7. 3 or 4 minutes.
  8. Stir in wine and simmer until wine is reduced by about half
  9. 3 to 5 minutes. Add clam juice
  10. tomatoes
  11. and oregano. Bring to a boil
  12. reduce heat to medium-low
  13. and simmer gently for about 15 minutes.
  14. Gently stir in calamari and simmer until tender
  15. 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in parsley.
  16. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water
  17. stirring occasionally until tender yet firm to the bite
  18. about 12 minutes. Drain.
  19. Stir some sauce into the hot
  20. drained pasta. Serve in warm bowls topped with more marinara sauce and grated cheese.

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 56 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 11 mins

Servings: 4

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