Today is the last day on the island of Sicily, where as the old saying goes: "if it has a hole, I'm stuffin’ it!" It was quite an experience stuffing these squid, ranks even more bizarrely erotic then when I had to lard meat...let’s just say, as I performed this labor-of-love, so to speak, I was reminded of my early days of the awkward discovery of the fairer sex. But, let’s get back to the food, shall we? I used a few items I wasn’t so sure would make sense: nuts and greens...inside a sea creature? I was sure to use everything that came with the squid, too, even frying up the tentacles to accompany a delicious blood orange salad. That was a bit of a gamble too. I wasn’t sure if stuffed squid had a place on top of a beautiful salad. Ultimately, I decided that while the stuffed squid absolutely paired well with the salad, the roasted tomatoes did not. So, I ultimately plated the items as their own separate dishes.
A rewarding aspect of these culinary challenges I throw myself is the discovery of new dishes, but also expanding my palate and culinary sense of what plays well together. Prior to doing the Tour de France series, I was in somewhat of a rut. The markets were bulging with great, seasonal items, but I was stuck in a malaise on my couch. I watched an entire season of Top Chef over the course of a weekend and that really helped get the juices flowing again. But, I needed something to do. Sometimes, you have to throw yourself to the wolves and venture into the unknown to get inspired and see what you’re made of. I’ve even received a couple of likes on my Instagram page from some Top Chef alum which was (and still is) mind-blowingly insane. But, I’ve decided to continue this journey, start a blog and take this unknown road to wherever it may lead. So, get off your tush and do something crazy and follow your road of self-discovery. Just be sure to come back and check on my page, capiche?
Stuffed Squid
Large bunch of tuscan kale, about 1 lb.
Onion
2 fennel
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp anchovy paste
4 garlic cloves, minced
Red pepper flakes
Oregano
½ cup walnut halves, chopped
Lemon
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
Parsley
Pecorino Cheese
1 lb cleaned squid
Tomatoes
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Chop about an inch of the stem off the kale and throw into the pot, boiling for a minute or so. Once the kale has heightened in color, remove and place in an ice water bath to stop cooking. Drain, giving a good squeeze to get the excess water out, and set aside.
While waiting for the water to boil, mince the onion and fennel (using stalks and fronds). Heat a skillet over medium heat with 2 tablespoons evoo and saute the onion and fennel with a pinch of salt until soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the anchovy paste, garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes and the leaves from 2 or 3 stems of oregano (or ½ tsp dried), until fragrant, then remove to a large bowl and let cool. Chop the kale and add to the bowl, along with the zest from a lemon, breadcrumbs, a fistful of parsley (minced), ⅓ cup freshly grated cheese. Mix and season with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 400. Stuff the squid with the filling. If the squid opening is small, make a half-inch slice to facilitate the process. It’s a tricky process. Once you get some in, using your index finger, shove down the bottom. Then keep piling in the stuffing. As you go along, things will get more and more slippery; you may curse. Just keep plugging away. It’s totally worth it.
When done stuffing, line them up in a casserole dish, quarter a few fresh tomatoes, placing them around the squid. Cover the squid with any remaining stuffing contents and a couple sprigs of fresh oregano. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. If you have the tentacles, heat some oil in a pot to about 360 and drop them in the oil and enjoy the show. Pull from the oil after a minute or so and season with sea salt.
Blood Orange Salad
Blood oranges
Red onion
Young basil leaves
Extra-virgin olive oil
Fried squid tentacles (optional)
Carefully remove the peel and any white pith from the orange flesh and thinly slice the oranges. Thinly slice some red onion. Make a layer of the orange and top scantily with red onion. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Season with fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with basil leaves, basil flowers, and fried squid tentacles (if desired).
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Copyright 2020, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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