What can I say...this pasta dish with calamari and pureed potato is just divine! Although this is a popular dish in Italy, you may find this combination of fish and potato with a touch of grated pecorino cheese something new to your palate. For this sauce you can use any kind of pasta but generally in Italy it is common to use paccheri for this dish. Paccheri is a type of pasta in the shape of a very large tube, originating from Campania, south Italy. They are usually smooth, but there is also a ribbed version like the one I have used here. Very easy and quick to make, you can impress your family and friends with just two main ingredients: fresh calamari blended with white wine and the pureed potatoes. The sauce you get is tasty, so smooth and creamy that you can't eat enough of it! Don't forget your favourite glass of white wine!
For 2 people:
180g Paccheri pasta (durum wheat)
250g calamari
300g potato
1 garlic clove
50ml dry white wine
40g grated pecorino
parsley finely chopped
black pepper
salt
extra virgin olive oil
Wash and peel the potatoes, then cut into cubes. Cook in a saucepan with salty water until they are completely soft; check with a fork. When cooked, drain and place in a blender with ground black pepper, a few spoons of oil, the pecorino cheese and a few tablespoons of water from their cooking.
In a large saucepan, prepare and boil the water with salt where later you will be cooking your paccheri.
Start to cut the calamari, some in small cubes and some in ring shape.
Take a non-stick pan large enough to hold the cooked paccheri. Add four tablespoons of olive oil and sauté one clove of garlic. When the garlic clove become golden in colour, add the calamari, again on low heat, for less than a minute. Sauté and blend with white wine for a few minutes over high heat, or until the wine evaporates. Your sauce should be tasty by now, remove the garlic and add the creamy pureed potatoes to the squid. Taste for salt before turning off the heat.
Cook the paccheri al dente or as you like, drain and add to the sauce with a small amount of pasta cooking water. This works as binder and will enhance your pasta dish by becoming a silky sauce. Add an additional cup or two if you think you need to get your pasta even creamier. Serve with finely chopped fresh parsley on the top.
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