A lovely dish served as a starter for 4 or a main for 2
Ingredients
- 4 medium size calamari, cleaned
- 250g young spinach leaves
- 100g artichokes in olive oil, chopped in small dice
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, and extra for drizzling
- 50g feta cheese
- 100g cream cheese
- 50g cooked prawns or crayfish, shelled (optional)
For the flame roasted pepper sauce
- 2 red flame roasted peppers from a jar, finely chopped
- 1 banana shallot, finely sliced
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp capers, drained
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ lemon, juice
To finish & serve
- 50g feta cheese
- 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
Instructions
To make the pepper sauce, bring a frying pan with the olive oil to a medium heat. Add the sliced shallot and cook for 4-5 minutes until translucent. Add the chopped pepper and cook for a few minutes longer. Add the oregano and capers and cook a couple more minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to cool. Use a stick blender to blitz to a smooth sauce. Season with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
To prepare the filling for the calamari, put a sauteing pan to medium heat and add 2 tbsp of the olive oil and the finely chopped shallot. Cook for 5 minutes and add the garlic and chopped artichoke. Cook for a couple more minutes and add the spinach. Put a lid over the pan and cook for a few minutes until the spinach is well wilted. Remove the lid and increase the heat so that all the liquids evaporate. Season with some salt and freshly ground black pepper.
When the spinach mix is cool, crumble the feta cheese into it and the cream cheese and mix well. Season with some salt and freshly ground black pepper and add the cooked prawns or cray fish too if you are using. With the help of a teaspoon, fill the calamari and secure with cocktail sticks.
Use the remaining oil, lemon juice and oregano to massage the calamari all round.
Preheat the oven to 200 C.
Bring a griddle pan to a high heat. Add the oiled calamari and cook for a couple of minutes on each side. Transfer to a baking sheet, drizzle with the pepper sauce, crumble the feta over them and bake in the hot oven for 15 minutes.
Slice and serve sprinkled with a little extra feta and finely chopped parsley.