Sunday, August 26, 2007

Squid casserole. (You think I'm kidding.)

I know it sounds gross, but it was actually really good, so I will post it for your delectation! (In a minute!)

First I want to say that I have actually been studying. Working. ME. And enjoying it, too. Maybe I am cut out for this academia shit after all. And I missed you guys! I've been so busy working (and not internetting) that I just marked all read on bloglines and went on my merry way. So...hi! And sorry! If you cared!

So...squid casserole. We had a bag of frozen calamari that we bought at Trader Joe's forever ago - I had wanted to fry it, but I never seemed to be in the mood to. So, we're trying to eat out of the freezer for a while (so full! Doubles of everything! It's like I'm a depression baby!) and I took the calamari out to thaw with no clear idea of what I actually wanted to DO to it. So I made something up based on like 20 calamari recipes I found online, and it was really, really good. Something like what I imagine Italian peasant food to be.

So:
1 bag frozen squid rings from TJs
2 cans diced tomato
1 can cannellini beans (the original plan; I used garbanzos)
1 onion
1 head garlic
1 bunch parsley
4 anchovy fillets
1 lemon
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups microplaned parmesan or romano
lots of olive oil
some very garlicky crouton type deals (I had made these a while ago as the basis for an appetizer of some sort and tossed the leftovers in the freezer, but they thickened it up really nicely - same idea as french onion soup


Melt the anchovies in the olive oil. Cook the onion and 2/3 of the garlic (you know, peeled and minced) over med to med-high heat until soft and smelling yum. Add the squid and cook for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes and the beans. Simmer for a couple of minutes, then set aside.

Saute the rest of the garlic in MORE oil, then brown the crumbs in it. Add 1/3 of the bunch of parsley (minced); add the rest to the squid mixture. Ditto the parmesan (1/3 to topping, 2/3 to casserole.) Put the crouton-thingies in the bottom of a good casserole dish, add the squid, and top with the crumbs. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes, till all is tender and yummy.

Even the child liked it. (Although he only has teeth in the front, and he worked on a bite of squid inside his mouth for like TEN MINUTES b/c he had to nibble it up instead of grind it up. Appreciate your molars, people!) Serve with a little lemon.