Saturday, October 20, 2012

Spaghetti with Calamari Sauce

Being in a mostly Italian family, we seem to eat a lot of pastas and never get tired of it. In Italy, a meal without pasta every day, is unheard of...just as in Hungary, a meal without soup every day is 'not a meal' ...as my father used to say...so, I'm 'famous' for both! I make a lot of different pastas with different sauces, and I also make a lot of soups, as well. The most popular sauce in my family is the simple 'red sauce' that you cook up in 30 minutes. It doesn't have to be with fresh tomatoes...if you have a favorite good canned tomato puree, which is the easiest way, add some seafood...as in this case calamari/squid... then you have dinner PRONTO~

I'm not going to make a big deal about this; it's one of those pastas that I rarely take photos of...cooking this at the last minute...lighting in the evening not the best, not so great photos...been cloudy and rainy just about every day, but here in S. Florida, we can have a rainstorm and half an hour later the sun will come out, and sometimes it even rains when the sun shines...just from one single cloud...strange, but true! Family away to NYC for the weekend, and I'm staying here withe the cute little Chihuahua pups...Stella and Luigi. They are such a joy, so happy, and a delightful pair. On to the recipe...actually no recipe; mad from 'scratch' but will be jotting down the easy method!

Spaghetti with Calamari Sauce
recipe by; Elisabeth

1- 28 oz. can Tomato Puree (I used Hunt's this time)
1 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic mince
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
fresh basil snipped
fresh oregano snipped (you can use dried)
1 cup white wine (you can use veg. broth, or fish stock in place of wine)
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes (use the amount you like)
1 lb. calamari-squid cleaned and sliced (not too thin, 1 inch)

In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil on med. high heat. Saute chopped onions and garlic until soft, and wilted. Add the wine and let it cook down to half the amount. Add the tomato puree, and add 1/2 cup of water right into the can...swish around to clean out the leftover sauce in the can. Add that to the saucepan. Switch to high heat, let it come to a boil, and turn down the heat to med./low to simmer for at least 20 to 25 minutes longer. Add the fresh snipped herbs, and the cleaned and rinsed calamari; also the little tentacles. Cook for no longer than 5 minutes. Caution not to cook any longer, or it will turn to a 'rubbery' texture.
Serve over spaghetti, or linguine...Enjoy!

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27 comments:

Premalatha Aravindhan said...

wow very tempting,luks delish...clicks are very nice...

Angie's Recipes said...

Pasta has always been the go-to dinner whenever I don't know what to cook ;-)
It must have been ages since I last had some calamari. The pasta looks saucy and delectable.

suhaina aji said...

This is so simple and easy to make. I do not use wine. Can we replace with veg or chicken stock. The spaghetti looks so saucy and yumm. Tempting clicks..Hugs...

Gizi said...

Elisabeth ez valami meseszép, és isteni finom lehet. Imádom a tésztás finomságaidat, a tintahal meg nagy kedvencem.
Valóban Magyarországon az étkezés elmaradhatatlan része a leves. Azelőtt minden nap főztem levest, most 1-2 éve nyáron már csak ritkábban, de télen elmaradhatatlan egy jó meleg leves.:)

Priya said...

Makes me hungry, irresistible and definitely inviting.

Elisabeth said...

Suhaina, you certainly can replace it with veg. or fish stock, but chicken stock would alter the fish flavor, so I wouldn't recommend it! You can also replace it with clam juice that comes in a bottle! xo

Elisabeth said...

Gizike, en rengeteg tesztas dolgokat fozok, es leveseket is. Mindig van mind a ketto megmaradva a huto szekrenyben. A lanyom ugyanezt a modot koveti tolem, csak o allandoan sutkerezez...en nem! Apam nagy leveses volt. Nalunk gyerek koromban minden nap volt leves, es sok bukta fele is. Anyukam is mindig szeretett sutni, de csak nem tortakat. A nagy nenikem a tortairol volt hires!

Patty said...

This makes me so hungry for a bowl of pasta. I was going to make pasta tonight with a butternut squash sauce but now I want red sauce!

Katalin said...

Nagyon guszta, szép színes, fincsi lehetett :)

Pegasuslegend said...

I absolutely love this dish! What a great photo too, drool worthy... I love that you cook like we do, we must be related. <3 this!

Lizzy Do said...

Mmmmmm....I am now in the mood for pasta... calamari for me...and sausage for Bill! I love simple pasta dishes. Hope you've had a wonderful weekend...I bet the pups love when you come to stay! xo

Kim Bee said...

This is gorgeous. My fave kind of meal is one like this. Just some good food and good company. Perfection! The photos are really good. Makes me wish I had a giant plate of it right now.

Emma said...

Oh yum! This looks so lush, I've been craving pasta lately.

mia xara said...

Hi Elisabeth, this is such a light yet so flavorful dish!Calamari tops my list of favorite seafood,I really love it paired with pasta! XOXO

lena said...

simple but this is great and making me very2 hungry:D i better dont think of it now, it's just past 1am, i better go to sleep now!

Lyndsey Chapin said...

We've had a beautiful weekend not clouds at all...which is so unusual for Florida...maybe we pushed the clouds on your side of the state! ;)

I like quick pastas like this one, my daughter and husband could eat pasta everyday! I like your photos!

LV said...

I do not need it, but love all Italian food. Would dearly enjoy a big helping of your dish.

Michael Toa said...

Hi Elisabeth! I hope you are well my friend... Sorry I have not been visiting for ages. Been a busy past few weeks but back to normality at least for now...
This is just my kind of meal... I can eat pasta all day long and with the calamari... just brilliant! :)
I hope you are well.

Zsuzsa said...

Elisabeth, what a lovely looking dish! If I don't focus on the calamari... how about putting in some spicy sausages? But me too, I LOVE pasta and if I couldn't live on Hungarian food, my next pick would be Italian. I just wish they didn't eat so many tengeri herkentyut! haha

Chic & Gorgeous Treats said...

Hi Eli! My family and I loves pasta. We pretty much have it almost every fourth-nightly ;). And my dad is a huge fan of any form of red sauce. This calamari pasta is simple enough yet packed with classic fresh herbs and flavours. We too love using left over white or red wine to add to the pasta sauce. You may not know this, but this pasta is making me drool right now. Oh, it's raining like cats and dog here too in KL. Sure makes me want to just cuddle up in bed and sleep..LOL. Take care and have a great week ahead. Huggs, Jo

scrambledhenfruit said...

I love calamari but have never had it in pasta, only the fried kind. I think it's time to broaden my horizons. This looks so good! :)

Sissi said...

What a gorgeous, simple Italian meal! You remind me I should cook more pasta (and less rice ;-) ) because pasta with a good sauce is one of the best easy meals one can prepare. I also love squid, but never have it in a tomato sauce. I must test your recipe. Thanks for the idea.

Elisabeth said...

Thank you for all your sweet comments, my dear friends! I'm still having problems with some of your blogs' Word Verifications that are totally blocking me.
I have contacted some of your by twitter, google+ ...just have not gotten any reply back, and if you are like me; probably not reading your messages often enough.

Michael Toa, you are specifically one of those bloggers that I have contacted by twitter; guess you did not read, and missed my message to you! So please everyone, check your comment section; you might be one of those bloggers that have the WV and not realizing it that its blocking comments to be able to send thru!
Have a wonderful middle of the week...or a Wordless Wednesday?...Hugs,

Shabs said...

I love calamari and this dish looks so mouthwatering Elisabeth * slurp * . I have to make this .

Patty said...

Your spaghetti looks out of this world ..good thing I just had lunch or I would be drooling on my keyboard,lol;-)
I'm making pasta this week for sure;-)

Phong Hong said...

Elisabeth, that's very yummy pasta you got there! I love the red red color, and I'd probably need two helpings :)

Toby Corn said...

Such a great change from at standard clam sauce when you want something "fishy" in your pasta! I'll give this one a try the next time I see suidies at the market!