Calamari may be the Rodney Dangerfield of the restaurant world, just not getting the respect it deserves. – Ron Ruggless

You call it squid, I call it CALAMARI.

Growing up an Italian-American on Staten Island, Christmas Eve dinner had an abundance of seafood. This tradition was based on the Feast of the Seven Fishes (La Vigilia Di Natale). I don’t remember if there were 3, 7 or 12 fish dishes served but I do remember eating a lot of seafood. There was also lasagna, ravioli and linguini. This was all followed with black coffee (espresso) and dessert: pingulatta, sfinge, cheesecake, pastries and cookies. So much for following the true tradition of La Vigilia!

Did You Know?

Some theories behind the significance of the number seven in the Feast of the Seven Fishes represents:

The Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church – baptism, penance, Holy Eucharist, confirmation, marriage, holy orders and the sacrament of the sick

Seven hills of Rome

The seven days it took Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit

I’m not sure which one it is but the number seven is a historical number.

One of my favorite seafood dishes is STUFFED CALAMARI. This succulent squid is a tender and delectable dish. I rediscovered this dish two years ago when I was going through my grandmothers recipe cards. The recipe looked something like this……

Calamari

Bread

Garlic, salt, pepper, sugar, Parma cheese

Crushed tomatoes

More garlic

Once again grandmother did not write the recipe down well. This is actually a testament to the cooking prowess of our grandmothers. All they needed was a short outline of a recipe to make these multiple generational food memories. Where I have many detailed cookbooks to teach me “how to cook”(and I still screw up!) They knew how to cook! It was in their blood.

I piecemealed the recipe together and tested various versions. In the end I was sick of calamari. Thank God it’s not expensive.

Ah! When I did finally get it right I had a grin from ear to ear. The dish reminded me of the same meal at my family’s Christmas Eve dinner. I am proud to share this family recipe. It is easy to make. Please let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!

STUFFED CALAMARI

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 lbs. of calamari tubes (cleaned)

2 28 oz. cans of crushed tomatoes

2 cloves of chopped garlic

1 tsp. sugar

Water (use one of the 28 oz. tomato cans)

Salt and Pepper

1/4 to 1/3 cup grated Imported Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

2 tsp. garlic powder

Stuffing Ingredients

½ loaf of white bread

2 tsp. parsley

¼ cup of grated Imported Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Salt and Pepper

A little extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 can of crabmeat (not that fake Krab stuff)

In a large pot, sauté garlic in oil heated over medium heat, about three to five minutes (do not brown). Add crushed tomatoes and season with the sugar, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and garlic powder. Add the water a little at a time till the sauce thickens to your liking.

Rinse the calamari tubes under cold water and drain well. Take the stuffing ingredients and mix together in a bowl. Stuff each calamari tube half way. This is important. If you over stuff the tubes will pop when they are cooking in the tomato sauce. Use toothpicks to close the opening of each tube. Add the tubes to the tomato sauce and bring to a boil then lower to a simmer. Cook about 11/2 to 2 hours.

Serve over a bed of linguini. Don’t forget the Italian bread to mop up the tomato sauce. Enjoy!