Squid can be cooked one of two ways: For the blink of an eye, or for a long, long time. Anything in between and it is rubbery. This dish, which is our version of a Southern Italian classic called calamari in umido, takes the long view of calamari cooking.

Think of this dish as something between a stew and a pasta sauce. It’s every bit as good as-is—with crusty bread, of course—as it is accompanying pasta (go with a short pasta like penne, bowties or fusilli) or, even better, a creamy polenta. You can even add a little cheese to the polenta, if no one’s looking. Italians rarely mix seafood and cheese.

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