Black Shells Calamari With Zesty Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil of medium-high heat.
• While the water is boiling, make the sauce: In a separate large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and ½ teaspoon salt and sauté for 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and translucent. Add the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and sauté for 1 minute, until the garlic is fragrant.
• Add the tomato paste and mix until evenly combined with the aromatics. Cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomato paste has darkened and thickened. It is okay if some of the paste begins to stick to the bottom of the pot. Deglaze with the red wine and clam juice, scraping up any browned bits. Simmer for 4-6 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by half.
• Add the whole peeled tomatoes and, using a potato masher, break up the tomatoes into bite-sized chunks. Bring the sauce to a simmer.
• Add the calamari and stir to coat in the sauce. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 25 minutes, until the calamari is very tender and the sauce has thickened. Season with the remaining teaspoon of salt, plus more to taste.
• When the calamari has 6-8 minutes cooking time left, drop the linguine into the boiling water and until just shy of al dente. Reserve ¼ cup (60 ml) of the pasta water.
• Using tongs, transfer the linguine directly to the calamari sauce. Add the reserved pasta water and toss well to combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the linguine is al dente and well coated in the sauce. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and half of the parsley.
• Transfer the pasta to a large serving platter and garnish with remaining parsley and red pepper flakes.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large sauté pan until just smoking. Sauté the pine nuts, currants, caperberries, garlic and red-pepper flakes until the pine nuts are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, and bring to a simmer. Stir in the calamari, mix well and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes, or until the calamari is just cooked and completely opaque. Toss in the scallions, and season with salt and pepper. Pour into a large, warm bowl, sprinkle with the reserved scallions, drizzle with olive oil, and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Working Ahead:
• The squid can be cleaned (if necessary) and cut in the morning, then covered and refrigerated. The fry mix can also be made early in the day.
• Cut squid bodies into 1/2″ rings and put in a colander set over a bowl; add whole tentacles. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use (up to 6 hours).
• Fry Mix:
• Combine cornstarch, flour, cornmeal, salt, and both peppers in a large bowl and whisk well. Refrigerate if not using within an hour or two to prevent humidity from changing the mixture.
• Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Heat 3" of oil in a 4-quart Dutch oven over medium heat (or in a deep fryer) until it registers 360° on a deep-fry thermometer.
• While oil is heating, pour buttermilk into a large bowl and drop squid into it. Stir with a Chinese wire-mesh skimmer to coat, then lift about half of squid pieces from buttermilk, allowing excess buttermilk to drip back into bowl, and drop pieces into the dry mix. Rinse and dry the wire skimmer. Toss pieces to coat evenly with the mix, then lift them out with skimmer, gently shake off excess fry mix, and transfer to a plate. Bread remaining squid. Rinse and dry skimmer.
• Heat a 10″-12″sauté pan over medium heat and add butter. Once it melts, add garlic and sauté until golden. Add drained cherry peppers and toss to combine. Turn heat down to low while you fry squid.
• When the oil is hot, carefully drop half the squid pieces into oil. If any of the pieces stick to the bottom of the pot, loosen with tongs. Turn squid occasionally to cook evenly; it will only take about 1 1/2 minutes until they are crisp and golden.
• Fry remaining squid and drain.
• Add all of fried squid to the hot pan with the garlic and sliced peppers, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and quickly and gently toss (only twice). Divide among 4 small plates and serve immediately.