Fried squid is ubiquitous in America – in fact, you see it on the most restaurants’ menus. Some of the best squid in the world is caught right off the coasts of New England and Long Island (Montauk).
We found some fresh, local squid and decided to braise it, stuff it with a paella-flavored rice and top it with chickpeas for added texture. Braising the squid in a sauce comprised of white wine, tomatoes and green olive sauce gives it a unique flavor.
Once you get comfortable cooking squid, you can use it in pasta, sauté it or add it to a stew. The key is to cook the squid either real fast or real slow, as an “in between” approach can result in a tough and chewy texture.
Paella-stuffed squid with chickpeas and green olives
This squid is stuffed with a paella-flavored rice and topped with chickpeas for added texture. Braising the squid in a sauce comprised of white wine, tomatoes and green olive sauce gives it a unique flavor.
Ingredients
- 8-10 squid tubes and tentacles, cleaned and intact
- 1 cup basmati rice (substitute with any type of rice)
- 1 ¾ cups water
- 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
- 2 medium-sized garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 medium-sized onion, finely diced
- 2 celery ribs, finely diced
- ½ cup red bell pepper, roasted and diced (substitute with store-bought roasted peppers)
- 2 large ripe tomatoes (substitute with 4 peeled and canned plum tomatoes)
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 sprig rosemary, leaves roughly chopped
- 2 Tbsp. sliced parsley (see video on how to properly slice parsley)
- 1 cup frozen peas
- ¾ cup dry white wine
- 4 links chicken sausage, with casings removed and crumbled into ¼” pieces
- 1 cup canned chickpea, rinsed
- ½ cup pitted green olives (we prefer Castelvetrano),cut in half lengthwise
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp. freshly cracked pepper
Instructions
- Roast the red bell pepper by charring the skin either on a grill, under a broiler or on a gas stove top. Once skin is fully charred, place pepper into paper bag or cover in a container, so it steams for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove core and seeds and scrape off most of the charred skin leaving behind the roasted flesh of the pepper. (It’s important to scrape the skin off rather than washing it with water, as that would take away from the flavor.) Dice pepper into ¼” pieces and reserve for later
- To make the rice: add 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil to a two-quart pot; add the crumbled chicken sausage and sauté until seared and cooked through. Remove sausage but leave the oil and charred pieces that stick to pot. Reserve the sausage in the fridge.
- Add the onions, garlic and celery to oil in pan and cook on medium temperature about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to soften the vegetables.
- Once onions are translucent and soft, add paprika, the cooked sausage, water, pinch of salt and bring to a boil.
- Add rice once the water comes to boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook rice about 13 minutes. At 13 minutes, lift lid on rice and add the peas. Place lid back on and cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until liquid is evaporated and rice is cooked through (check instructions on package for suggested cooking time as you may need to alter based on type of rice you are using).
- Once rice is cooked, remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Add 1 Tbsp. of sliced parsley to the rice and mix. Remove rice from pot, place into a container and then reserve in the fridge. (Rice can be prepared up to one day in advance.)
- Once rice mixture is cooled, it's time to stuff the squid tubes. Spoon or place the rice mixture inside the squid, as if you were gently filling up a bag. Be careful not to over stuff the squid and tear lining of squid tube. Leave about ¾” open (unstuffed) space at top. Keep in mind that when squid cooks, it shrinks and will tightly hug the stuffing.
- To hold in the stuffing, close the opening of tube by piercing it with a toothpick.
- In a large pan (about 12” wide and 3” deep), add 2 Tbsp. olive oil and heat to medium high. Top each tube of stuffed squid and the tentacles with salt and pepper. Add squid to pan and sear, browning all sides of the tubes. Some tubes might split open, but do not panic. Stay calm and cook on.
- Add the tomato to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Carefully crush the tomato when cooking.
- Add white wine. Turn heat to simmer and cover. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Add chickpeas and olives and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Turn off heat, cover pan and let rest for 5 minutes.
- To serve: slice the tubes into 1” rings and, if you want, leave some of the tubes whole. Arrange tentacles and tubes attractively on a plate. Spoon sauce with tomatoes and olives into dish on and around the squid. Top with remaining parsley and drizzle with olive oil.
Notes
How to properly slice parsley for maximum flavor: Watch video
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