Spinach and feta stuffed calamaris with sweet potato wedges

Greece for me holds so many wonderful memories. It was the scene of my first travelling adventure as a twenty something year old. I spent the month hopping from island to island with my then boyfriend and it was idyllic. Completely carefree without a thought in the world. All we had to worry about was finding a place to stay, hanging out on beaches, exploring the islands and thinking about what island to visit next.

My trip to Kefalonia with Simon, many years later was slightly different. We only had the time to briefly jet in for a week. No backpacks, no mopeds but it felt just as carefree to be honest. We once again followed the same routine as I had so many years ago. This time we had a little more money to eat out though, but despite that we still kept it simple. I think that is what makes Greece to very appealing is that sense of simplicity.

And so it is with the food. Simple food cooked well, what more can you want.

Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

1 tin of plum tomatoes or 250g of fresh tomatoes

125ml of dry white wine

1 tsp dried 0regano

2 cloves of garlic

1 TBS olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method

Make the tomato sauce first and leave to simmer while you are making the Calamaris.

Chop up the tomatoes roughly if you are using fresh tomatoes

Heat up the oil in a small pot and add the garlic ensuring that you don’t burn it

Add the tomatoes, dried oregano and salt and pepper

Cook the tomatoes on a medium heat until soft and then simmer at a low heat until needed.

Sweet Potato Wedges

Ingredients

2 medium size sweet potatoes

Dried oregano

Salt

Olive oil

Method

Cut sweet potatoes into wedges

Toss in olive oil and and sprinkle on salt and oregano

Roast in an oven at 180ºc for about 45 minutes

 

Calamaris

Ingredients

12 calamari, tubes

500g fresh baby spinach

250g of feta cheese

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, diced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

fine sea salt and ground black pepper

Method

Rinse the calamari, making sure the tubes remain intact.

Rinse and drain the spinach. Heat a steamer pot over medium heat and steam the spinach until soft, about 2 minutes.

In a skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the fat over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, mint and a pinch of sea salt and sauté for 2 minutes.

Add the steamed spinach and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the mixture from the pan and let cool for about 10 minutes. (Do not clean the pan, you will use it again).

Mix in the crumbled feta cheese.

Stuff the calamari tubes with the spinach mixture until they are tightly packed and seal with a cocktail stick.

Melt the remaining tablespoon of fat in the skillet over medium high heat and sear the calamari tubes for a few seconds on each side. Add the tomato sauce and simmer the tubes for about 3 minutes to allow the flavours to combine. Plate the calamari, top with the tomato sauce, and garnish with the cut chopped mint to serve.

Click here to watch a video of the recipes

NOTES
Tip – to prevent the calamari from becoming chewy, cook at a higher heat temperature for less time.