Sicilian Stuffed Squid with Pea Purée

Name: Sicilian Stuffed Squid with Pea Purée
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Peas 2 cups; Onions ½ cup; Potatoes 9 oz; Water (or vegetable broth) 2 cups; Extra virgin olive oil 1 ½ tbsp; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste; Calamari (squid) already cleaned 1.8 lbs; Breadcrumbs 0.8 cup; Olive pitted 3.5 oz; Anchovies in oil 10; Salted capers desalted 1 tsp; Parsley to taste; Garlic 1 clove; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste; Pea sprouts to taste

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Serving: 4

PRESENTATION

Recipe by
Sebastian Fitarau

Sicilian Stuffed Squid with Pea Purée departs from the classic version in one decisive way: the filling leads with olives, capers, and anchovies—three ingredients that push the flavor toward something bolder and unmistakably Mediterranean. That intensity is the point, and the Sicilian inspiration here isn't vague regionalism; it's those three ingredients doing deliberate, specific work together. The result is a main course that reads as elegant but comes together without complicated technique, making it a reasonable choice for a family lunch as easily as for a more considered dinner.

Serving the stuffed squid over a velvety pea purée turns contrast into structure. The purée is soft and delicately sweet, and that sweetness doesn't soften the filling so much as frame it, giving each bite a clean back-and-forth between salt and sweetness. The squid itself cooks to a genuine tenderness that holds the filling without competing with it, and the pea purée beneath functions as a proper plating element rather than a side thought—its role in the dish is to complete the balance that the filling sets up.

INGREDIENTS

for the pea purée: Peas 2 cups (300 g); Onions ½ cup (70 g); Potatoes 9 oz (250 g); Water 2 cups (500 ml) - (or vegetable broth); Extra virgin olive oil 1 ½ tbsp (20 g); Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste

for the stuffed squid: Calamari (squid) 1.8 lbs (800 g) - already cleaned; Breadcrumbs 0.8 cup (100 g); Olive 3.5 oz (100 g) - pitted; Anchovies in oil 10; Salted capers 1 tsp (5 g) - desalted; Parsley to taste; Garlic 1 clove; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste

to garnish: Pea sprouts to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Sicilian Stuffed Squid with Pea Purée

To prepare the Sicilian-style stuffed squid with pea purée, start with the squid. Separate the tentacles 1 and the fins 2 from the bodies and set the bodies aside. In a pan heat a drizzle of oil with the garlic clove peeled and halved. Add the tentacles and fins 3.

Cook over high heat for about 5 minutes 4. Remove the garlic, transfer everything to a cutting board (reserving the pan juices), add the rinsed capers 5 and the pitted olives 6.

Add the anchovies as well 7 and roughly chop everything 8. Gather the mixture in a bowl. Finely chop a small bunch of parsley 9.

Add a good portion of the chopped parsley to the bowl 10 along with the reserved pan juices from the squid 11 and the breadcrumbs 12.

Add a pinch of salt 13, a grating of pepper and mix 14 until you obtain a moist but compact mixture. Fill the squid using a spoon, not overfilling them, leaving about 3/4 in (2 cm) from the edge 15.

Close the end with a toothpick 16. Place the squid in a baking dish so they are close but not overlapping. Add some parsley on top 17 and incorporate any remaining stuffing 18.

Drizzle with a little oil 19 and bake in a preheated convection oven at 374°F for about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the pea purée. Clean and thinly slice the onion 20. Then peel the potatoes as well 21.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, then slice them 22. In a saucepan heat the oil, add the onions 23 and the potatoes 34.

Let them sauté for a couple of minutes, then add the peas 25. Salt and pepper 26 and pour in the water 27, or alternatively the same amount of vegetable broth.

Cook for about 20 minutes 28, then blend with an immersion blender 29 until you obtain a smooth, homogeneous purée 30.

At this point the squid will also be ready; take them out of the oven 31. Spoon the pea purée onto serving plates, place the stuffed squid on top (remember to remove the toothpick) 32 and finish with pea shoots and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil 33.

Storage

It is recommended to eat the Sicilian-style stuffed squid with pea purée freshly prepared. If you have leftovers, you can store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 day, keeping the purée separate from the squid. When ready to serve, gently reheat them in the oven or in a pan. The pea purée can be stored separately in the fridge for 1–2 days.

Tip

Do not overfill the squid: they tend to shrink during cooking and the filling could come out. Leave about 3/4 in (2 cm) from the edge and close them with a toothpick to obtain a neat result and a firm filling. For an even fresher, more fragrant note, you can add the grated zest of half an unwaxed lemon to the filling.

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.

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