Stuffed Calamari with Aubergine and Tomato Recipe for The Grapesmith Maritimo

Full of Mediterranean appeal, this recipe for risotto-stuffed squid makes the most of simple vegetables to make a flavour-packed sauce. Sun-ripened tomatoes, aubergines, garlic and smoked paprika produce a deliciously rustic base in which tender baby calamari tubes and tentacles are enjoyed with olive oil, fresh parsley and crusty bread for mopping up the sauce.

The rule when cooking calamari is to either go very fast or very slow – in this case, it’s the former, with the dish going from stovetop to table in 30 minutes.

The Grapesmith Maritimo red blend lends its palate of juicy red fruit, earthy fynbos notes and gentle acidity to the buttery calamari and deep smokiness of the aubergine and paprika.

Prep time: 5 mins / Cook time: 20-25 mins / Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• 500g baby squid heads and tentacles, cleaned
• 100ml arborio (risotto) rice
• 1 shallot or small onion, finely diced
• Olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 100ml dry white wine
• 500ml chicken or vegetable stock

For the sauce:

• 2 to 3 large ripe tomatoes, diced
• 2 large purple aubergines, diced
• Olive oil
• 5ml smoked paprika
• Sea salt and black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Fresh flatleaf parsley, roughly chopped
• Crusty bread, for serving

Method:

Heat about 20ml of olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add in the chopped tomatoes and aubergine and cook over high heat until the aubergine has browned. Add in the garlic and season with paprika, salt and pepper. Deglaze with the white wine and simmer until slightly reduced. Set the sauce aside, keeping warm until needed.

In a saucepan over medium heat, heat about 15ml of olive oil and fry the diced shallot until translucent. Add in the garlic and sauté for a few seconds before adding in the rice. Cook on high heat for a minute, stirring the rice so that each grain is coated in oil. Deglaze the saucepan with the white wine and reduce, stirring often, until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Ladle in the stock, a spoonful at a time and stirring often, until the rice is al dente. Season to taste and once slightly cooled, use a teaspoon to fill each calamari head, securing the open end with a toothpick.

In a frying pan over high heat, add 15ml of olive oil and fry the stuffed squid heads and tentacles, turning once, until lightly browned and no longer translucent. Remove from the heat and immediately place the squid into the tomato & aubergine sauce. Garnish the dish with parsley and serve with crusty bread and The Grapesmith Maritimo.

Recipe developed by Georgia East.