Squids Provençal (Calamares à la Provençale)
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 60min. without cleaning
A very popular dish of the Provence from Marseilles to Menton. In French it is called Encornets à la Provençale. If you see it on a menu try it! It's wonderful. Or prepare it yourself, it is quite easy. Try to get small squids, they are more tender. In case you bought fresh squids and need to clean them, click here for instructions.
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, about 250 gr (8 oz), peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 kg (2 lbs) squid, cleaned and pouches cut into 2,5 cm (1 inch) rings, if they are about thumb size you can leave them whole
- salt and pepper
- pinch of Cayenne pepper
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) dry white wine
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) fish or chicken broth
- 500 gr (1 lbs) tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
- 1 medium sized zucchini, about 200 gr (about 1 cup) cut into rounds
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 bouquet garni (2 twigs parsley, 1 twig thyme, 1 bay leaf - all tied up in a bundle)
Preparation:
Warm olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onions and sauté about 10 minutes. Raise the heat and sauté the squid about 2 - 3 minutes, stirring constantly until the squid juices have almost evaporated. Remove the squid from the saucepan and set aside.
Add the wine and fish or chicken broth to the saucepan. Cook until liquid is reduced by half. Add tomatoes, garlic and bouquet garni and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add the squid and cook it until tender. Depending on the squid size this should take between 30 - 40 minutes.
Add zucchini and cook for another 10 minutes. By this time the sauce should be fairly thick. If not, reduce sauce over high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Serve the dish with a crusty white bread or rice pilaf.