Braised Squid in White wine with Spinach, Fresh Tomato and Chilli Pepper

Squid is naturally tender. Most of us think it’s best chargrilled of fried on a very hot pan for just a few moments. It’s true, squid is wonderful that way, especially when eaten on a sunny beach day, or in Venice for instance, seated along a quaint and quiet canal. Another way of cooking it is to braise it slowly until exquisitely tender, which is exactly how I prepared it in the recipe below, which is an adaptation from a cook book by the wonderful Marcella Hazan,”Marcella Cucina”.

Serves 4:

• about 1 kg of small to medium squids, cleaned (ask your fishmonger to do it for you)
• 1 onion, thinly sliced into half-moons
• 200 ml of dry white wine
• 500 g of baby spinach leaves, cleaned and trimmed
• about 300 g of fresh ripe tomatoes, choose the ones that are in season
• 2 tablespoons of capers in salt, soaked in cold water for 40-60 minutes
• a 1/4 of a chilli pepper, or more – depending on the size and spiciness of the pepper
• salt
• 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil

Rinse the squids. Slice them lengthways in half, cut the flesh into about 4 cm long squares. Leave the tentacles whole or cut in half.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy based pan, 26 cm in diameter, and add the onions seasoning them with some salt. Fry until softened and lightly coloured for about 7 minutes stirring them occasionally.

Add the squid, turn it over two or three times to coat it well, and cook for about 3-4 minutes – until it turns from translucent to flat white.

Pour in the wine and let it simmer briefly until reduced by half. Add the chilli pepper, cover the pan with the lid, turn the heat down to low. Cook for approximately 45 minutes, until the squid feels very tender when pricked with a fork.

Turn it over from time to time whilst cooking.

In the meantime wilt the spinach leaves by placing them into a warmed up large pan (you could add a tablespoon of olive oil if you wish) and cook briefly, until all the leaves have softened. Drain.

Peel the tomatoes, preferably raw, otherwise plunge them into boiling water and take them out after about a minute or so, then peel.

Cut in half, remove the seeds and the cut again into smaller segments.

Drain the capers and roughly chop.

Once the squid turns tender, add the capers, stir in the spinach and then the tomatoes.

Taste and adjust seasoning. After about 2 minutes take the pan off the heat and serve immediately.