Mallorca: Squid Stuffed With Pine Nuts

[Margi Cintrano]

Good Morning.

The traditional gastronomy of the 3 major Balearic Islands of Spain, Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza are most famous for their crustaeans and cephalopods. The islands have had a turbulent history, and all of them harbour the remains of prehistoric peoples, such as the Greeks, Romans, Phoenicians, Moorish and the Empire of Carthage.

The inshore fishing vessels have been bringing in their shoal of cephalophods, and the catch is enough for a feast ... Here is one of my favourite recipes for Stuffed Squid, which I obtained from an elderly Fisherman and his lovely lady:

CALAMARS A LA MALLORQUINA ...

SQUID STUFFED WITH PINENUTS ...


Serves 4 to 6 ...

2 pounds of Squid fresh or frozen
1 leek finely chopped or grated
1 scallion finely snipped
1/4 cup of Raisins
2 Eggs lightly beaten
4 ounces of bread crumbs ( I use day old baguette finely grinded )
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon cinammon
2/3 cup Extra virgin olive oil
1 1/4 cup Spanish or Mediterranean White Wine ( I use Catalan )
1/2 Teaspoon saffron threads lightly toasted in a dry pan

1. rinse the squid well to remove vestiges of sand and discard the innards and the bone ( squid have a long thin, transparent bone )
2. reserve the squid caps
3. cut the tentacles off just below the eyes and finely chop them up ( I have my Fish Monger do this, it is a gratis service here )
4. make a stuffing by working together the chopped tentacles, finely chopped leek and scallion and pinenuts, raisins, and eggs and enough bread crumbs to form a Firmish paste
5. season with salt, a pinch of cinammon and freshly grinded black pepper
6. stuff the squid caps with the paste, and lay neatly in a heavy skillet or earthenware casserole.
7. Add the EVOO, white wine, and saffron and boil, then turn down heat to a simmer, and cook the stuffed squids gently for 20 minutes, rolling the caps over every now and then, so they cook evenly.
8. serve with thick slabs of country warm bread, a drizzle of fresh lemon and white wine of choice.

Have a nice day.
Margaux Cintrano.

 

[4meandthem]

I REALLY want to try this one!

 

[buckytom]

prehistoric people?

lol, sounds good for writing effect, but nope. that's when "history" began.

and cooking squid 20 minutes? are you sure?

sounds like it would turn into a pirelli tire. i've made calamari involtini before, and the trick is to have the stuffing fully cooked so you only flash cook the outer squid, preferrably over charcoal.

have you actually made this, margi?

 

[Addie]

Minus the raisins and saffron, my daughter makes stuff squid all the time. She loves them. But like shelling shrimp, she hates to clean them. So she brings all of them to me and I get to do the cleaning and the shelling. She puts them in her marinara gravy. I don't mind cleaning them, but I pass on eating them. Not my favorite seafood. I think it is the tentacles that turn me off.

Two foods in this community are tripe and squid. Folks buy squid in five or ten pound boxes frozen. I get to clean the five pound box.

Yesterday for Mother's Day, her husband cooked two lobsters for her. Both of them were steamed. I passed. I had a small steak. I am lobstered out. And who knows when I will get over it. I love the meat, but I hate having to work so hard for my meal.

 

[Bacardi1]

prehistoric people?

lol, sounds good for writing effect, but nope. that's when "history" began.

and cooking squid 20 minutes? are you sure?

sounds like it would turn into a pirelli tire. i've made calamari involtini before, and the trick is to have the stuffing fully cooked so you only flash cook the outer squid, preferrably over charcoal.

have you actually made this, margi?

I have to agree with Buckytom here. Twenty minutes is definitely a no-no zone for squid in my book. You either cook squid for 5 minutes or 45 minutes. Anything in the middle of those 2 time periods & you have rubber bands or tires.

Normally I do the 5-minute deal for Calamari I'm using to sauce pasta or for a paella or Asian stirfry, & 45 minutes (in some type of braising liquid) for whole stuffed Calamari.

 

[Margi Cintrano]

checking in from sardinia, italia ... celebrating 32nd anniversary

thanks for all the posts

how large are ur squids

20 mins on a gentle simmer ---note these are simmered in white wine

these are colossal squids

tender melt in mouth

thanks for your feedback

baby squid 5 mins, however these are colossal ... huge ...

have great week
be back 19th
margi

 

[Margi Cintrano]

Buckytom: Loligo Vulgaris Squid

good afternoon, ciao,

the squid i purchase is approx 40 centimetres in length and is quite colossal thus, requires a longer simmering process than Baby Chipirones, baby squids, which are tiny clusters which can simmer in 2 mins., 1 minute per side.

thanks for input.

margi.

 

[Margi Cintrano]

Mean4them,

thanks for your feedback. i am sure u shall enjoy this mallorcan delicacy. it is a fisherman´s recipe with Moorish roots, the raisins and the spices --- and the mix of dried fruit with seafood. very common on this island.

Returning on 19th from Sardinia,
Margi.

 

[Margi Cintrano]

Addie,

thanks for ur input ... I am a Maine Lobster or Brittany, France Lobster Woman.

It is not in season at moment ... Christmas is lobster season here ...

Have a lovely week.
Margi.

 

[Addie]

Addie,

thanks for ur input ... I am a Maine Lobster or Brittany, France Lobster Woman.

It is not in season at moment ... Christmas is lobster season here ...

Have a lovely week.
Margi.

Winter is the time for lobster here also. In the summer they are shedding their shells and they are soft. That makes their meat very watery and salty. Not very good eating. When I was a kid, after a storm we would go down to the beach and collect them off the beach. Meat was rationed and any seafood brought home by the kids was greatly enjoyed. Right now soft shell clams are plentiful. They too are adding to their shell size. The best time to find them is low tide. They leave air bubbles in the sand so they are easy to find. As kids we never came home from the beach without a bucket full of clams. Steamed clams dipped into melted butter. Life doesn't get any better than that. Down in New Bedford and Fall River is where the scalloping boats are. You can get them still in the shell. But our supermarkets sell them without the shell and have been soaked in water to add weight to them. Oyster stew is another favorite of mine. I love shell fish. But I am so sick of lobster.

 

[Margi Cintrano]

Addie,

I believe one of our colleague blogger members, Paid $2.95 USD Per Pound for lobster recently, this week ...

I believe she is going to freeze them for a Bisque.

Margi.

 

[CWS4322]

Twas I that got the lobster (cooked) for that. The recipe sounds really good but I can't eat pine nuts. Three pine nuts will kill me. Three percent (I think that is what the allergist told me) of people are allergic to pine nuts. Very small percentage of the population. Because pine nuts are the seed of the pignola, and not a nut, those of us who are allergic can usually eat peanuts, walnuts, almonds, etc. If I may, instead of putting "pine nuts" in the ingredients list, could you put "xx cups" nuts (e.g., walnuts, pecans, almonds, etc.) to make it generic when one searches on the Internet because there are those who will follow the recipe to the exact and may not realize that there are those who are allergic to pine nuts since they are not a common NA ingredient?

That's my blurb for keeping me alive--a friend brought home frozen bruschetta--then realized that the pesto used had PINE NUTS in it. I asked if he was trying to kill me..., I can still get him to be so apologetic about that. Honest mistake, but when he said it had pesto in it, I said "let me see the ingredient list." Another reason I don't eat out often--doing so, could kill me.

 

[Addie]

CWS, stay out of Italian restaurants. They love to cook with pine nuts. Just out of habit, anytime I am cooking for someone else, I always ask if they have any allergies. When I make something for the Church Fair or for Winthrop, I always label it whether it has nuts or not. Allergic reactions are no fun to deal with.

 

[CWS4322]

CWS, stay out of Italian restaurants. They love to cook with pine nuts. Just out of habit, anytime I am cooking for someone else, I always ask if they have any allergies. When I make something for the Church Fair or for Winthrop, I always label it whether it has nuts or not. Allergic reactions are no fun to deal with.

Another reason I don't eat out. I always ask what nuts are in the kitchen, but because I am so allergic to pine nuts, I can't have them near anything I eat. Allergic reactions vary, but I have less then 10 minutes to be injected.

 

[Addie]

Another reason I don't eat out. I always ask what nuts are in the kitchen, but because I am so allergic to pine nuts, I can't have them near anything I eat. Allergic reactions vary, but I have less then 10 minutes to be injected.

I am allergic to penicillin and my sister due to rheumatic fever was on it for many months after she came home from the hospital. She took her two pills out of the bottle and put them on the table while she got her glass of water. I came along and sat down where the pills had been. I put my hands down where the pills were. The next thing I remember was waking up in the ER. Lesson learned. Until she had been off the medicine for more than two weeks, I couldn't even give her a hug.

 

[Harry Cobean]

I am allergic to penicillin and my sister due to rheumatic fever was on it for many months after she came home from the hospital. She took her two pills out of the bottle and put them on the table while she got her glass of water. I came along and sat down where the pills had been. I put my hands down where the pills were. The next thing I remember was waking up in the ER. Lesson learned. Until she had been off the medicine for more than two weeks, I couldn't even give her a hug.

nightmare addie! does that mean you can't eat blue cheeses such as stilton & roquefort etc & soft cheeses with a mould rind like camembert & brie? as i understand it the blue veining & mould rind is either created by introducing a form of penicillin or from developing the penicillin mould naturally?
harry

 

[Addie]

nightmare addie! does that mean you can't eat blue cheeses such as stilton & roquefort etc & soft cheeses with a mould rind like camembert & brie? as i understand it the blue veining & mould rind is either created by introducing a form of penicillin or from developing the penicillin mould naturally?
harry

I don't know and I don't want to take the chance of finding out that the answer is "No." I stay away from all molds. Whether they be in food or on a wall. My reaction to just touching the table top where the pills had been almost killed me. Fortunately, my sister was there and got me help real fast. I won't even touch mold cheeses in the store. Even if they are double wrapped. In my list of medical allergies, Penicillin are Heparin are in red. I can't even touch the skin of someone who is on penicillin. When my kids were small, the doctor could not give them penicillin because of me. No medicine ending in icillin. When I am in the hospital, they put a large piece of paper right over my bed in big red letters, Penicillin Heparin. And another sign is right outside my door. All medical personnel have to wash their hands, not just use the antibacterial gel before they can touch me in case they were with another patient that is on a icillin medicine. I often get question about what happens if I come in contact with it. And I have to tell them, "I don't know." And I don't. All I remember is sitting at the table and then coming to in the hospital. So it must be a very severe allergic reaction. At the time it didn't occur to me to ask what happened. All they told me was that I had an allergic reaction to my sister's medicine. I spent the night in the hospital and went home the next day with warnings about staying away from my sister as long as she was on the medicine.

When someone tells me "I am allergic to...." I listen to them and don't poos pooh them. They may be just looking for attrention or trying to outdo someone who has a real allergy. But I don't want to find out that they are telling the truth.

 

[Harry Cobean]

two of my favourite squid dishes are calamari ripieni & pla muk yad sai.both delish,look impressive on the plate & dead simple to make.i use prepared squid about 4-5 inches(10-12cms) that i buy off the fish counter in my local tesco.cheap as chips too,one of the few seafoods that is cheap over here.
for the ripieni the squid tubes are stuffed with a mixture made up of the chopped tentacles,finely chopped garlic,peeled tomatoes,achovy fillets,parsley,breadcrumbs,black pepper,chilli flakes & an egg to bind.close the squid with wooden cocktail stick,pack tightly in a dish with a good glug of olive oil,half cup of dry white wine & a pinch of saffron(optional but i love saffron!).bake uncovered @ 350f(180c) for 40-45 mins.
for the pla muk stuff the squid with a mixture of finely ground pork,a paste made by pounding coriander(cilantro)root & garlic together with soy sauce & black pepper.fry the stuffed squid over a medium heat until coloured with chopped garlic & ginger then add some soaked shitake mushrooms,the soaking liquid,some oyster sauce,fish sauce & a pinch of sugar,cover & simmer for 5 mins then uncover & boil hard for 1 min to reduce the liquid.
sorry,just ingredients no exact measurements as i tend to cook by sense,increasing/decreasing ingedients 'til it tastes the way i like it

 

[Harry Cobean]

I don't know and I don't want to take the chance of finding out that the answer is "No." I stay away from all molds. Whether they be in food or on a wall. My reaction to just touching the table top where the pills had been almost killed me. Fortunately, my sister was there and got me help real fast. I won't even touch mold cheeses in the store. Even if they are double wrapped. In my list of medical allergies, Penicillin are Heparin are in red. I can't even touch the skin of someone who is on penicillin. When my kids were small, the doctor could not give them penicillin because of me. No medicine ending in icillin. When I am in the hospital, they put a large piece of paper right over my bed in big red letters, Penicillin Heparin. And another sign is right outside my door. All medical personnel have to wash their hands, not just use the antibacterial gel before they can touch me in case they were with another patient that is on a icillin medicine. I often get question about what happens if I come in contact with it. And I have to tell them, "I don't know." And I don't. All I remember is sitting at the table and then coming to in the hospital. So it must be a very severe allergic reaction. At the time it didn't occur to me to ask what happened. All they told me was that I had an allergic reaction to my sister's medicine. I spent the night in the hospital and went home the next day with warnings about staying away from my sister as long as she was on the medicine.

When someone tells me "I am allergic to...." I listen to them and don't poos pooh them. They may be just looking for attrention or trying to outdo someone who has a real allergy. But I don't want to find out that they are telling the truth.

count myself lucky that all i get is a touch of hayfever & that only lasts for a couple of weeks each year.........

 

[Margi Cintrano]

Buongiorno CWS,

Firstly, I am sorry to hear that you are allergic to Pinenuts. However, do not fret ... The squid stuffing can easily be made without Pinenuts.

Can you eat Almonds ? Hazelnuts ? Pistachios ?
Almonds can be a good alternative ...

Mushrooms perhaps ... To provide a lightly earthy flavor and texture to the filling.

Have a lovely wkend.
Margi.