Because I love to cook so much and always have a seemingly endless stack of recipes to try and cookbooks to discover, I don’t end up eating out too often. When I do go out, I love to try to recreate dishes that I fall in love with. This calamari is one of those dishes.
Sauteed Calamari with Capers and Cherry Peppers
Serves 4 as appetizer
Recipe by Just the Tip
Here’s what I used:
- 1 1/2 lbs cleaned calamari, cut into rings
- 4 cherry peppers, seeded, and cut into rings
- 1/4 cup capers, drained
- 1 cup homemade marinara (saute some garlic in olive oil. add san marzano tomatoes that you whirl in a food mill or squish with your fingers. Salt and pepper, 15 minutes on low, and bam: marinara)
- 1/4 cup whole wheat panko
- 1 tsp butter
- pinch dried oregano
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- salt, pepper, olive oil
Here’s what I did:
- Melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add the panko, season with a little salt, and toss to toast for about a minute or two. Remove from heat and reserve.
- In a large saute pan (I used cast-iron), heat up a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add the cherry peppers and capers and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the calamari rings and any tentacles, season with salt, pepper and oregano, and saute for a minute or so. Add the marinara and cook in the sauce for another couple of minutes until the calamari is firm and opaque (don’t overcook or it will get rubbery).
- Squeeze a healthy amount of fresh lemon juice, garnish with parsley and toasted panko, and eat it.
was this done with fresh or canned cherry peppers?
I used the jarred kind in brine…but fresh would be fine I’m sure.
Awesome! I went to the store and bought all the ingredients today and can’t wait to try it! Thanks!
Yum! Enjoy!