It is my friend Anna Gallo who takes me on a journey to her native land, Calabria, giving me a beautiful bread bag from the art textile workshop Mario Celestino of Cosenza. And that is how I came up with the idea of preparing a dish that combines land and sea, a dish where squid meets ‘nduja, the undisputed queen of the tip of our boot: Calamari in fish soup with ‘nduja.
Calabria is definitely the region where red is the colour that paints the table, and it does so with chilli, the star ingredient of the ‘nduja, the sausage prepared by mixing pork meat and other spices, but also of the Sardella, a spicy cream made from whitebait, as well as many other specialities, and textiles and local handicrafts.
So let’s paint our tables red and add a little spice to life!
Calamari in fish soup with ‘nduja
negligible carbohydrates per 100g without bread
Ingredients for 4 servings
- 1kg squid, cleaned
- 100g white wine
- 30g slivered almonds*
- 20g ‘nduja*
- 1 sprig of parsley
- 2 small sprigs of marjoram
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/2 lemon with edible peel
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- homemade bread**
**Ingredients specific for celiacs
*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)
Preparation
- Cut the cleaned squid with beaks and eyes removed into strips and sauté them in a frying pan with a little extra virgin olive oil and the chopped clove of garlic. Sprinkle them with white wine and let it evaporate.
- Add the ‘nduja and cook for 5 more minutes: taste the squid and turn off the heat when they are soft because prolonged cooking makes them rubbery.
- In the meantime, toast the slivered almonds and use them to top the squid, also season with chopped parsley, marjoram leaves and a grating of lemon peel.
- Serve the fish soup with slices of toasted homemade bread.
Version with gluten of Calamari in fish soup with ‘nduja
The recipe contains only naturally gluten free ingredients, so no adaptation is necessary for its version with gluten.
