Calamaretti ripieni - stuffed baby squid

Calamari (squid) is not something I make regularly. The whole "creatures-of-the-sea" thing doesn't seem to be MY thing since in general I prefer to prepare meat or vegetarian dishes.
That's also why I included a whole "fishy chapter" to my cooking courses, so that I would finally have the chance to eat what I almost never cook at home. ;)

I found some beautiful fresh baby squid and thought it would be great to prepare it, also to show my cooking students how to clean it should they find themselves in need of doing that instead of buying it clean and frozen in a supermarket. You never know, you might end up on a desert island with lots of fresh shellfish and starve to death because you don't know how to prepare it! (or don't dare to, it can look quite intimidating...)

So here's a very simple and tasty recipe for baby squid. You can also buy bigger squid or even cuttlefish if you like, only the cooking time will be longer since their thicker meat needs a bit longer to get tender.
Instructions for cleaning the squid are also included in the recipe. The whole procedure sounds a bit messy but it's very rewarding. The pleasure of saying: "I cleaned these little monsters myself!" is absolutely priceless.

Calamaretti ripieni (stuffed baby squid)

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:                     

1-2 little calamari (squid) p.p.
6 spoons capers
800 gr. canned peeled tomatoes with their juice
fresh or dried oregano
e.v. olive oil
12 spoons breadcrumbs
100 gr black olives
fresh flat-leaf parsley
5 cloves of garlic
salt
black pepper and a few dried red hot chili peppers

Carefully remove the tentacles and the innards (guts) of the squids (everything should come out at once when you remove the guts inserting one or more fingers inside the body of the squid and pulling gently). If the translucent “quill” remains inside, pull it out to remove it. Wash the squids and remove their skin rubbing them with your fingers while washing them.

Cut off the eyes and the “beak”, discard and keep the tentacles.

Finely chop the tentacles and fry them in a bit of olive oil with a pinch of salt. Add the breadcrumbs, the chopped olives, the capers and 3 finely chopped garlic cloves. Mix well from time to time until everything is nicely cooked. Season with oregano, salt and pepper.

Stuff the squid with this mixture and seal with a toothpick.

Add some olive oil in a frying pan plus 2 peeled and crushed garlic cloves and the chopped peeled tomatoes and leave to simmer for a while.

Lay the squid in the sauce, add a few chili peppers if you like, cover with a lid and leave to gently simmer until the squid is ready and yet still moist and tender.

Garnish with finely chopped parsley and serve immediately.

The wine pairing I've chosen for this strongly flavoured dish is a Greco di Tufo 2008 from Vesevo drunk not too cold - around 12°C - so that all the aromas of this intense white wine can express themselves at their very best.
I love wines from the Campania region because they're so mineral and full of character thanks to the volcanic nature of the territorio, the soil the grapes grow on. This Greco di tufo is made with 100% Greco grapes (for this DOCG wine the quantity of Greco grapes has to be at least 85% , with 15% max of typically local coda di volpe).