Biba Caggiano was an Italian-American cookbook author, television chef, and restaurateur. It was through her books that I mastered the basics of Italian cooking about twenty years ago, before I learned the language and increased my knowledge of Italian cuisine by frequent trips to Italy. Because a friend was going to Tuscany I looked in her books for a Tuscan recipe, and noticed one that I had never prepared before: Calamari in Inzimino, a typical dish of Livorno. It intrigued me because of the combination of squid with chard. I am not sure why I had not prepared it before, perhaps because chard is not an ingredient that is easily available in the Netherlands. The photo does not do it justice. The dish was absolutely delicious and a wonderful combination of flavors and textures that I will surely prepare more often. The earthy chard combines very well with the fruity and spicy tomato sauce, the lemon zest, and the squid. Biba also included slices of grilled bread with the dish, which I omitted because I was serving this as secondo after pasta.

Ingredients

Serves 4 as a secondo piatto

• 600 grams (1.3 lbs) cleaned and chopped squid
• 2 cans (400 grams/14 oz each) of peeled tomatoes, pureed in the food processor
• 50 grams minced red onion (about 1/2 cup)
• 50 grams minced carrot (about 1/2 cup)
• 50 grams minced celery (about 1/2 cup)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) dry white wine
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• 1 tsp chili pepper flakes
• 450 grams (1 lb) chard leaves (without the stalks)
• grated zest of 1 lemon

Instructions

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a casserole. Add the onion, carrot, and celery.

Stir over medium heat until the vegetables start to brown. Add 2 minced garlic cloves, and stir for a minute longer. Make sure the garlic doesn’t brown to prevent a bitter flavor.

Add the white wine. Cook, stirring, until half of the wine has evaporated.

Add the pureed tomatoes…

…and the squid. Season with salt and a teaspoon of chilli flakes.

Stir and bring to a boil.

Partially cover and simmer over low heat until the squid is almost tender, about 1 hour.

The first time I made this it came out perfect, but I didn’t take photos. The second time I had cooked the tomato sauce a bit too long and it became too thick and less ‘fresh’ tasting. So make sure to keep the tomato sauce somewhat liquid.

Remove the stalks from the chard (save them for another use such as this recipe), and wash the leaves. Tear the leaves into pieces and put them in a pot with some water and a bit of salt. Bring to a boil and boil for a couple of minutes, then drain them using a colander.

Heat 3 tablespoons in a pan. Add the grated lemon zest and the final clove of minced garlic. Stir for a minute until fragrant, making sure the garlic doesn’t turn brown.

Add the drained chard and season with salt.

Stir for a couple of minutes to flavor the chard with the garlic, olive oil, and lemon zest.

Add the chard to the squid and tomatoes, stir, and cook for a bit longer over low heat. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed with salt and chilli flakes.

Serve on preheated plates.

Wine pairing

We enjoyed this with a Verdicchio from the Marche. A Vermentino from Tuscany or Sardinia would also be a great choice. The wine should be dry (but not too dry) and unoaked.