CookEat Recipe
Spaghetti with Stuffed Cuttlefish Braising Sauce
Spaghetti dressed with the tomato juices from slowly braised bread-stuffed cuttlefish; the cuttlefish is served separately.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 3 medium whole food-grade cuttlefish, about 650–700 g combined before cleaning; 100 g soft bread crumb; 1 garlic clove; 2 tablespoons chopped parsley; 3 tablespoons olive oil for the stuffing, plus 2 tablespoons for the pan; 1 medium onion; About 700 ml plain tomato passata, or 4 tablespoons tomato paste diluted in 700 ml water; About 500 ml water, added gradually as needed; 500 g spaghetti; 60 g grated Parmesan; Salt and black pepper to taste.
Step 2
Have the fishmonger clean the cuttlefish, removing the skin, internal shell, beak, eyes, digestive tract and ink sacs. Retain the mantle sacs and the two long feeding tentacles from each animal for the stuffing; reserve any other cleaned edible arms separately for another preparation. Keep everything cold until needed. No ink goes into this recipe.
Step 3
Finely chop the six retained long tentacles with the bread crumb, parsley and garlic. Season with the 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper. Fill the three mantle sacs loosely and close their openings securely with food-safe kitchen thread, leaving room for expansion.
Step 4
Finely chop the onion and squeeze some juice out with clean hands. Cook it in the remaining 2 tablespoons oil until beginning to colour. Add the stuffed cuttlefish, season lightly and turn until coloured on both sides.
Step 5
Add the passata or diluted paste. Braise at a gentle simmer for about 3 hours, adding water gradually so the pan does not dry and enough tomato cooking juice remains for the pasta. Check that the centre of the stuffing reaches at least 74°C and the cuttlefish is tender.
Step 6
Lift out the cuttlefish, remove all thread and reserve hot with a little sauce for the accompanying fish course. Check the remaining sauce for any thread or hard fragments. Cook the spaghetti in salted water until just tender, drain and dress with the braising sauce and Parmesan. Serve the stuffed cuttlefish separately.
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