Calmars Farcis à la Marseillaise

Ingredients

• 8 Loligo vulgaris (whole squid), 150–200 g each, cleaned, tentacles reserved
• For the stuffing
• 100 g day-old bread crumb, soaked in water and squeezed dry
• 3 garlic cloves (Allium sativum), finely minced
• 20 g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 egg (Gallus gallus domesticus), beaten
• 1 tsp sea salt
• For the braising base
• 400 g tomato concassé, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped
• 200 ml dry white wine
• 2 garlic cloves (Allium sativum), finely minced
• 2 g fresh thyme, sprig
• 1 bay leaf
• 30 ml olive oil (Olea europaea), for browning

Method

1. 1
   Mince the reserved tentacles finely. Combine them with the soaked, squeezed bread crumb, minced garlic, chopped parsley, beaten egg, and sea salt. To verify seasoning, form a small ball of stuffing and poach it briefly in salted water. Taste and adjust salt and parsley before proceeding. The mixture should be cohesive and moist, not wet.
2. 2
   Fill each cleaned squid body to two-thirds of its capacity only — the body contracts by up to 30% during cooking and overfilling causes bursting. Seal the opening of each body with a toothpick. The body should feel gently firm, not taut.
3. 3
   Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy-based pan over a medium-high flame. Brown the stuffed squid bodies on all sides until a deep golden colour is achieved. This step seals the toothpick end and deposits caramelised fond on the pan base. Each body should be coloured, not steamed — do not crowd the pan. When the bodies are uniformly golden and the pan floor carries a dark, fragrant deposit, they are ready.
4. 4
   Remove the browned squid to a plate. In the same pan, add the additional minced garlic and cook briefly until fragrant. Add the tomato concassé, white wine, thyme, and bay. Stir to lift all fond from the pan base. The base should smell of wine, tomato, and the caramelised squid deposit — this is the foundation of the final sauce.
5. 5
   Return the browned squid bodies to the braising liquid. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer — the surface of the liquid should tremble, not boil. This is where the dish lives or dies: hard boiling drives the squid through its rubbery phase and leaves it dry; a sustained gentle simmer carries it through to the second tender phase. Braise, covered, for 45 minutes. At the end of the braise, press each body with the back of a spoon — it should yield with slight, yielding resistance, neither collapsing nor springing back hard.
6. 6
   Remove the squid to a warm serving dish. If the braising liquid has not reduced to a glossy consistency, raise the heat and reduce it uncovered for a few minutes until it coats a spoon. Pour the sauce over the squid bodies. To confirm the dish is complete, cut across one body: the stuffing should be moist and garlicky, the exterior braised and slightly caramelised, and the sauce deeply flavoured from the absorbed squid juices.