Calamari With Herbs and Polenta
Published February 23, 2012
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
- Total Time
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
Salt to taste
1 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons butter, optional
Freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE CALAMARI
1 ½ pounds cleaned squid
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon chopped marjoram
2 tablespoons chopped mint
A splash of white wine, about 2 tablespoons
½ cup chopped parsley
3 tablespoons chopped scallions
Lemon wedges, optional
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
40 grams carbs; 412 milligrams cholesterol; 504 calories; 12 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 22 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 634 milligrams sodium; 30 grams protein; 1 gram sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Cook the polenta. Bring 5 cups salted water to a boil in a small pot. Pour in the cornmeal, stirring with a whisk or wooden spoon until it thickens, about 2 minutes. Turn the flame to low and cook for 40 to 45 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in 2 tablespoons butter, if using, and a little freshly ground pepper. Serve warm from the pot. Or pour into a pan, allow to firm up and cut into wedges. Reheat for 10 minutes in a 400-degree oven.
- Step 2
Cut the squid bodies into ½-inch rings. Cut the tentacles in pieces or leave whole if small. Rinse, pat dry and season with salt and pepper.
- Step 3
Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over high heat until the oil looks wavy. Carefully add the squid (it will spatter) and stir to coat. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, marjoram and mint and cook, stirring all the while, for 1 minute, until the squid rings have puffed up and look opaque. Add the wine and cook for 1 minute more.
- Step 4
Turn off the heat. Add the parsley and scallions and serve immediately with the accumulated pan juices and lemon wedges if desired.
Private Notes
Comments
This was spectacular, even though I didn’t follow the recipe exactly. I used polenta from our supermarket and dried mint and marjoram. I would make it again in a nanosecond, because it was quite easy. Served it with a spinach, mushroom and red onion salad.
Maybe I didn’t dry the calamari quite enough? Kinda watery.
This is a near-perfect recipe. One of its most appealing features is its flexibility. Although I try to follow David Tanis’ directions, usually something goes a little wrong. This time, I found that I didn’t have any marjoram. I simply left it out,and in the end I didn’t miss it at all. Quantities of herbs, wine, etc. are subject to modification. Delicious and easy.
Wow. That’s good. I started with unprepared squid. My first time making it. Was a lot of prep work, not necessarily for the squeamish. (YouTube will show you what to do.) But a fantastic result. I’m kinda proud of myself for this one.
Oof…we make NYTimes recipes ALL THE TIME and this one missed the mark for my family. The texture of calamari next to the texture of polenta was not good. We do have fun joking about what’s for dinner…”not calamari and polenta I hope!” Hey, maybe we made a serious error somewhere in the process. Either way, 1 bad recipe out of 100 isn’t bad. We keep coming back to NYTimes for more!