Cyprian slow-cooked calamari stifado

SERVES 4

PREP TIME 10 minutes

COOKING TIME 1 hour 10 minutes

The method of slow cooking in Greece is known as stifado; in Italy it’s stufato, based on the Italian word for stove – ‘stufa’. While commonly reserved for meats, slow cooking can be used for calamari and octopus too, delivering stunning results. The base ingredients of white wine, olive oil, bay leaf, onion, garlic and tomato create great flavour in this dish. For a more intense version, the white wine can be substituted for any quality medium-bodied red wine.

250ml (1 cup) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

1 onion, finely diced

4 garlic cloves, crushed

250ml (1 cup) Xynisteri white wine (or any quality dry white wine) 1.6kg (8 cups) chopped tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 bay leaves

½ tablespoon Greek oregano

1kg small whole calamari, cleaned

8 baby potatoes, cut in half

2 tablespoons chopped parsley (optional)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Place the olive oil and onion in a large saucepan over low heat and cook until the onion is translucent.

2 Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaves, oregano and 500ml (2 cups) water and bring to a simmer.

3 Add the calamari and potatoes and cook over low heat for 30–60 minutes, or until tender. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley. Finish with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.