Calamari Stewed with Tomatoes

Calamari (squid) slow cooked in tomato sauce with onion, fennel, garlic, red wine, and parsley.

Hank Shaw
Hank has authored five cookbooks, the latest in 2021. His website Hunter Angler Gardener Cook won Best Food Blog by the James Beard Foundation in 2013.
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Hank Shaw
Hank Shaw
Stewed Calamari
Elise Bauer

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.

Stewed Calamari
Elise Bauer

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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Calamari Stewed with Tomatoes

Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 80 mins
Total Time 95 mins
Servings 4 to 6 servings

You can buy frozen, cleaned squid in the freezer section of many grocery stores. Defrost by placing in refrigerator overnight, or in a bowl of ice water. This recipe does call for an anise-flavored liquor, which you can leave out if you want, but the dish will be better with it in.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds cleaned calamari (squid), tubes sliced into rings and tentacles roughly chopped
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 sliced onion
  • 1 fennel bulb, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup Sambuca or other anise-flavored liquor
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
  • 1/4 cup fennel fronds, chopped

Method

  1. Sauté onions, fennel, garlic:

    Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and fennel. Stir to coat with oil and sauté, stirring occasionally, until it begins to color, about 5-6 minutes. Sprinkle some salt over it.

    Add the garlic cloves and tomato paste and stir well to combine. Cook this for another 2-3 minutes, stirring once or twice.

  2. Add the red wine:

    stir well, and increase the heat to high. Boil until the liquid is reduced by half.

  3. Add the Sambuca or other anise-flavored liquor, and the crushed tomatoes.
  4. Stir in the calamari and bring the pot to a gentle simmer:

    Simmer for at least 1 hour. After an hour, taste a piece of calamari; It should be tender. If it’s not, keep simmering. Check for tenderness every 15 minutes afterward.

  5. Season to taste with salt and pepper:

    Once the calamari is tender, taste the stew for salt and pepper, adding if needed. Add the chopped parsley and fennel fronds. Stir well to combine and serve.