A simple and delicious calamari recipe - calamari stewed in tomato sauce. The calamari turns out very tender, soft, with a pleasant spiciness. Calamari in tomato sauce is perfect with a side of rice or pasta. This is my variation of the Sicilian recipe calamari alla messinese.

You can use fresh or frozen calamari, cuttlefish, or even giant squid as the main ingredient. If using giant calamari, you must cut it into cubes instead of rings. Depending on the product chosen, the taste of the finished dish may vary slightly.

If you bought fresh seafood, it needs to be cleaned. This can be done in two ways: blanch the calamari carcasses with boiling water, as in the recipe for calamari beef stroganoff, or clean them under running water. In my experience, the second method is preferable.

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Servings: 3 servings

Ingredients for 3 portions

Ingredients for stewed calamari in tomato sauce
  • 1.8 lb Calamari (800 g)
  • 1 piece Anchovies
  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 1/3 cup Parsley chopped (20 g)
  • 7 oz Tomatoes in their own juice (200 g)
  • 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 pinch Salt

How to make

  1. Mincing garlic and parsley for squid in tomato sauce

    Peel and finely chop or press the garlic (2 cloves). Wash, dry, and finely chop the parsley (1/3 cup or 20 g).

    You can also mince and add hot red pepper to taste.

  2. Sautéing herbs with garlic and anchovies in a pan

    Heat a pan with olive oil (2 tbsp). Add the minced garlic and parsley. Add 2 anchovies for a richer fish flavor, and mash them with a spatula. Saute everything together for 1-2 minutes over medium heat.

    If desired, add hot chili pepper. If you don't have anchovies, you can replace them with a drop of Worcestershire or fish sauce, or omit them entirely.

  3. Adding calamari to the pan

    Add the cleaned and sliced calamari rings (1.8 lbs or 800 g) to the pan.

    If you're using frozen calamari, it needs to be thawed slowly. To do this, place the frozen seafood in the refrigerator until fully thawed. This gentle thawing method is ideal for both frozen fish and frozen seafood.

  4. Sautéing calamari in the pan

    Turn them over.

  5. Adding tomatoes to the calamari

    Immediately add the peeled and chopped tomatoes in their own juice (7 oz or 200 g) and salt to taste. Bring the tomato sauce to a boil. Anchovies are salty by themselves, so season the sauce carefully. If desired, you can add spices to taste: oregano, thyme, basil, or ground black pepper.

    You can replace the tomatoes in their own juice with tomato paste (1 tbsp), but it should be mixed with the other components in step 2.

    Since calamari releases a lot of liquid during cooking, the sauce turns out quite liquid, more like a soup or gravy. If you want a thicker sauce, you should first pour in and reduce the tomatoes, and only then add the calamari rings to the pan.

  6. Stewing calamari in tomato sauce until done

    Stew the calamari in the sauce for 1-3 minutes over medium heat. When cooking calamari, it's best to focus not on cooking time, but on their appearance. As soon as the calamari have changed shape (spread out) and color - they're ready.

    It's important to remember that the following cooking rule works with these sea creatures: either very quickly or very long. Either we cook them for about 1-3 minutes, the so-called "scared" method. If we miss the cooking time, the calamari meat becomes rubbery. Or we stew the calamari for 30 minutes or more, after which the seafood flesh softens again and becomes tender.

    So if you happen to miss the 1-3 minutes and your calamari has become rubbery, feel free to return it to the sauce, cover with a lid, and stew until the desired consistency.

    The cooking time for calamari depends on their size, variety, and the temperature at which they're cooked. The smaller the carcass, the faster it's ready. At the same time, the variety and size can affect not only the cooking time but also the toughness of the finished dish. From my observations, cuttlefish, which can often be found for sale in fish markets in Italy, turn out tougher compared to regular calamari or cuttlefish meat.

  7. Stewed calamari in tomato sauce is ready

    The calamari in tomato sauce is ready. You can serve the seafood with your favorite side dish, mashed potatoes, rice porridge, a slice of white bread, flatbread, or focaccia with fried onions and cheese.

    Additionally, this dish can be used as a sauce for pasta.