This is a nice winter dish, because it takes a couple of hours of slow simmering, and thus helps warm the kitchen. It's also expansive (not expensive), and will provide you with sauce for your pasta as well as a second course that will be nicely complemented by a tossed salad. The recipe will serve four.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours, 00 minute
Ingredients:
- 2 to 3 medium sized cuttlefish, about a pound and a half (700 g) in all
- 1 1/2 cups crumbled Tuscan bread, less crust, moistened and wrung dry
- A small bunch parsley and a clove of garlic, minced (about 1/4 cup in all)
- 1 medium sized onion, chopped
- 4 canned plum tomatoes, 1 cup (250 ml) tomato sauce, or 1 tablespoon tomato paste diluted in 1 cup water
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Hot water
- 3/4 pound (320 g) spaghetti, cooked in lightly salted water
Preparation:
Clean and wash the cuttlefish. Mince the two long tentacles, and mix them with the bread, parsley, garlic, and a tablespoon of oil. Season the stuffing to taste with salt and pepper, and stuff the cavities of the cuttlefish, sewing them shut with string.
Sauté‚ the onion in the remaining oil. When it's translucent, add the cuttlefish and season with salt and pepper. When the cuttlefish have browned slightly, add the tomato and simmer slowly for two hours, adding water as necessary to keep the sauce from drying out; check the seasoning of the sauce towards the end of the cooking, and, about ten minutes before you plan to serve the meal, cook the spaghetti.
Use the sauce to season the spaghetti, and serve the cuttlefish as a second course, with a tossed salad. The wine? This is a substantial dish; I'd suggest either a rosato or a light red wine, for example a Bardolino Chiaretto if you rather pink, or a Bardolino or Dolcetto if you'd rather red.
Sauté‚ the onion in the remaining oil. When it's translucent, add the cuttlefish and season with salt and pepper. When the cuttlefish have browned slightly, add the tomato and simmer slowly for two hours, adding water as necessary to keep the sauce from drying out; check the seasoning of the sauce towards the end of the cooking, and, about ten minutes before you plan to serve the meal, cook the spaghetti.
Use the sauce to season the spaghetti, and serve the cuttlefish as a second course, with a tossed salad. The wine? This is a substantial dish; I'd suggest either a rosato or a light red wine, for example a Bardolino Chiaretto if you rather pink, or a Bardolino or Dolcetto if you'd rather red.
