I’ll be the first to admit that making seafood used to scare the hell out of me. I considered seafood too delicate for me to handle and the fear of overcooking a more expensive ingredient made me shy away. I am here to shout from the rooftops: I WAS WRONG! A plate of Totani squid pasta would cost €20-30 a plate in a restaurant. It cost me a total of $10 to make two portions.
To keep costs lower while buying seafood I look out for products I know I like, and buy when they’re on discount. For this dish, for example, my local market was selling 1kg of totani ( a small squid local to Positano) for just €12/kg. That’s such a steal and they even offered to clean them for free. Now let’s get into the recipe.
What’s the best pasta shape to use?
With seafood, there are a few options of pasta shape to use. For squid in particular I tend to enjoy smaller-shaped pasta, so I would recommend using one of the following:
- Calamarata – Short rings
- Tubeti – Short cylinder pasta
Prep
Slice your Totani into 1/2-inch thick strips. Try to keep your cuts consistent so they cook evenly. For the tentacles, I cut them in 3. Once your squid is cut, put it to the side and clean your workstation.
Set a pot of salted water to boil and cook your pasta 1 minute less than the box instructs.
Use this time to peel your garlic and cut it into large chunks. Mince your parsely, chop the chili, and zest the lemon.
Cook!
Start by browing your garlic in a good amount of olive oil. This is just meant to ‘season’ the oil so remove once they have gone golden brown on both sides.
Add in your Totani and chili, and saute for 2 minutes. Mix these around and make sure they are cooking evenly.
Pour in your wine and season with salt & pepper. Allow this mixture to simmer for 5 minutes. The wine should reduce by half.
Finish the Dish
Lastly, add in your pasta along with some pasta water, lemon juice, lemon zest, and parsley. Sautee your totani squid pasta together until well combined. Instead of chopping the chili here to keep it milder for my boyfriend who is not a big fan of heat, I sauteed the whole pepper and remove it after cooking.
Plate it up
Transfer your pasta and Totani to a plate and get ready to feast! I loved serving this with a cold crisp glass of white wine and toasted bread. Enjoy!
If you loved this recipe, check out the tomato-sauce version as well!
White Wine Totani (Squid) Pasta
Ingredients
- 250 grams Totani ( Squid) about 1/2 Pound
- 180 grams Pasta
- 1/2 cup White Wine
- 2 Tbsp Chopped Parsley
- 1 small Fresh Chili Or chili flakes
- 1 clove Garlic
- 1/2 Lemon ( juice + zest)
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
Instructions
- Set a pot of water to boil. Season your water and cook pasta according to box instructions. Be sure to reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
- Prep your totani or squid. I recommend asking your fishmonger to clean the squid for you since it can be a little time-consuming and tricky. Once cleaned, the two halves of the squid should be separated, the top mantle/trunk and the bottom, tentacles.
- Break down the squid by slicing the trunk horizontally into 1/2-inch strips. For the tentacles, I cut the bunch into three, leaving around 3 tentacles per piece. Set the squid aside and sanitize your workstation.
- Remove the skin from a clove of garlic and slice into 2-3 large chunks. Finely dice a fresh chili, the cilantro or parsley, and zest half of a lemon.
- Place your 3 Tbsp of olive oil in a pan and begin heating the oil on a medium flame. Add in your large slices of garlic. We want to fry the garlic to add flavor to the oil, so remove the pieces once golden brown. You can optionally chop these up once fried and add them back to the sauce later.
- Add in your Totani ( or squid) pieces and chili and saute for 2 minutes.
- Pour in your wine and season with salt and black pepper. Cook down the wine for 5 minutes.
- For the last minute of cooking, add in your pasta, 2 tbsp of pasta water, lemon juice, and zest. Toss aggressively until the sauce is shiny and coats the pasta. ** Note, the Totani should cook for a total of 8 minutes. Do not go over this time limit or you will end up with chewy squid.
- Serve the pasta and Totani with a crisp glass of white wine and crusty bread for the best scarpetta.
One response to “How to Make Flavorful Totani Squid Pasta in a White Wine Sauce”
-
[…] and with summer coming to an end I’ve been craving it more than ever. I’ve shared my white-wine variation of this dish, but the tomato version takes the cake. This dish is so easy and delicious to make, I’m […]
One thought on “How to Make Flavorful Totani Squid Pasta in a White Wine Sauce”
Comments are closed.