4 small cuttlefish or whole
calamari (about 180gm
each; or 8 baby cuttlefish,
about 90gm each)
80 gm (1 cup) fresh
breadcrumbs
40 gm pecorino or parmesan,
grated
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
½ cup (loosely packed) flat-leaf
parsley, finely chopped
2 eggs
2 tsp capers, rinsed and
roughly chopped
20 green olives, pitted
and cut into quarters
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
125 ml dry white wine (or water)1 To clean the cuttlefish, turn it
over so that the pale side faces
towards you. Run your thumb
along the sides, where the wings
are attached to the body – you
should be able to pierce the
skineasily and pull it off along
with the wings. Turn over and
continue removing the skin. You
should now see the cuttlefish
bone: a large, flat, leaf-shaped
piece that lies barely under
a second skin. Pierce this with
your thumbnail and pull out the
bone. Now you should be able
to see the interior through a very
thin membrane. Pierce this with
your nail again, or with a sharp
knife, being very careful not to
break the ink sac or cut through
any of the body. You won’t
need the ink sac (keep it for
tossing through spaghetti with
garlic and chilli). Pull out the
interior and discard the rest.
For the head, cut out the eyes
and the hard piece of cartilage
that lies behind them without
cutting off the head entirely.SEPPIE RIPIENE ALLA TARANTINA
Stuffed baby cuttlefish, Taranto style
SERVES 4
“This specialty of Taranto home cooking is made with locally fished baby cuttlefish,
which are cleverly cleaned whole – to me, they resemble small dinghies holding some
delicious cargo,” says Davies. “Try to procure whole cuttlefish that you will need to
clean yourself. If you cannot find these delightfully small cuttlefish, no larger than the
size of your palm, you can also prepare this dish with equally small calamari, which can
be sliced on one side to create concertina-like cuts where the stuffing will peek through.”
Pull out the beak, which lies
in the middle of the tentacles.
Also cut off the two longest
tentacles, leaving the rest
attached. Rinse well and pat
dry with paper towels.
2 If using whole, uncleaned
calamari, pull out the head,
innards and the quill. Pull off the
wings at the bottom of the body
and, with this, you should be
able to peel off the skin. Rinse
the body and ensure it is empty.
The calamari tentacles can be
added to the baking dish as
they are, or chop them finely
and add to the filling.
3 Pulse breadcrumbs, cheese,
garlic andparsley in a food
processor to combine. Tip the
mixture into a bowl and add the
eggs, capers, olive and some
pepper (this is such a flavourful
filling that you won’t need salt).Stuff each cuttlefish with this
mixture; if using calamari, leave
a little room at the top to seal the
ends with a toothpick, then, with
a sharp knife, make concertina-
like incisions about 1cm apart
across one side of the body
to reveal the filling.
4 Preheat oven to 180°C.
Drizzle oil in the base of a
baking dish, lay the stuffed
cuttlefish on top and pour over
the wine. Cover tightly with foil
and bake for 20 minutes, then
uncover (save the foil) and
continue baking for a further
10-15 minutes. They should be
golden on top and a fork should
easily pierce the cuttlefish when
tender. Remove the dish from
the oven, cover with foil again
and rest for 10 minutes before
serving with a spoonful of the
pan juices.➤