Stuffed squid with caramelized onions

February 01, 2006

Serves 6
You may have some sofrito stuffing left here. Use it as a sauce, thinned with a little stock or wine, for pasta or rice. The best squid are the smallest ones you can find.

ONIONS

3 tablespoons olive oil 3 large Spanish onions, thinly sliced Salt, to taste

1. In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and salt and cook, stirring often, for 30 minutes or until the onions are very soft and golden brown.

2. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, if you like.

SQUID

5 tablespoons olive oil 1 pound squid tentacles, rinsed and chopped Sofrito (see recipe) 1 teaspoon sweet paprika 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley Salt and pepper, to taste 24 small cleaned squid bodies (tubes), rinsed Wooden toothpicks (to secure squid)

1. In a large heavy skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat.Cook the tentacles for 1 minute, stirring constantly, or until they turn opaque. Transfer to a bowl. Stir the sofrito, paprika, parsley, salt, and pepper into the tentacles.

2. Gently stuff the squid bodies about 3/4 full with the sofrito mixture. If the hole at the open end isn't large enough to get small spoonfuls of stuffing in, make a small cut or tear at the opening to widen it. (Don't overfill because the squid shrinks as it cooks.) Weave a toothpick horizontally across the opening of each squid to seal it. If the bottom opens, seal that, too, with a toothpick.

3. Wipe out the skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan. Add half of the stuffed squid and cook, turning once, for 6 minutes or until the squid is opaque and beginning to brown. Transfer to a plate and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.

4. Use the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to cook the remaining squid in the same way.

5. To serve: place 4 squid on each of 6 plates. Top them with caramelized onions.

Adapted from Taberna de Haro