Stuffed baby cuttlefish, Taranto style

SERVES 4

“This specialty of Taranto home cooking is made with locally fished baby cuttlefish, which are cleverly cleaned whole – to me, they resemble small dinghies holding some delicious cargo,” says Davies. “Try to procure whole cuttlefish that you will need to clean yourself. If you cannot find these delightfully small cuttlefish, no larger than the size of your palm, you can also prepare this dish with equally small calamari, which can be sliced on one side to create concertina-like cuts where the stuffing will peek through.”

4 small cuttlefish or whole calamari (about 180gm each; or 8 baby cuttlefish, about 90gm each)

80 gm (1 cup) fresh

breadcrumbs

40 gm pecorino or parmesan,

grated

1 garlic clove, finely chopped ½ cup (loosely packed) flat-leaf

parsley, finely chopped 2 eggs

2 tsp capers, rinsed and

roughly chopped

20 green olives, pitted

and cut into quarters

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 125 ml dry white wine (or water)

1 To clean the cuttlefish, turn it over so that the pale side faces towards you. Run your thumb along the sides, where the wings are attached to the body – you should be able to pierce the skin easily and pull it off along with the wings. Turn over and continue removing the skin. You should now see the cuttlefish bone: a large, flat, leaf-shaped piece that lies barely under a second skin. Pierce this with your thumbnail and pull out the bone. Now you should be able to see the interior through a very thin membrane. Pierce this with your nail again, or with a sharp knife, being very careful not to break the ink sac or cut through any of the body. You won’t need the ink sac (keep it for tossing through spaghetti with garlic and chilli). Pull out the interior and discard the rest.

For the head, cut out the eyes and the hard piece of cartilage that lies behind them without cutting off the head entirely. Pull out the beak, which lies in the middle of the tentacles. Also cut off the two longest tentacles, leaving the rest attached. Rinse well and pat dry with paper towels.

2 If using whole, uncleaned calamari, pull out the head, innards and the quill. Pull off the wings at the bottom of the body and, with this, you should be able to peel off the skin. Rinse the body and ensure it is empty. The calamari tentacles can be added to the baking dish as they are, or chop them finely and add to the filling.

3 Pulse breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic and parsley in a food processor to combine. Tip the mixture into a bowl and add the eggs, capers, olive and some pepper (this is such a flavourful filling that you won’t need salt). Stuff each cuttlefish with this mixture; if using calamari, leave a little room at the top to seal the ends with a toothpick, then, with a sharp knife, make concertinalike incisions about 1cm apart across one side of the body to reveal the filling.

4 Preheat oven to 180°C. Drizzle oil in the base of a baking dish, lay the stuffed cuttlefish on top and pour over the wine. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then uncover (save the foil) and continue baking for a further 10-15 minutes. They should be golden on top and a fork should easily pierce the cuttlefish when tender. Remove the dish from the oven, cover with foil again and rest for 10 minutes before serving with a spoonful of the pan juices. ➤