Erica De Mane

Recipe below: Clay Pot Calamari with Sweet Spices

In my travels I like to collect clay pots meant for cooking. So far I’ve done little actual cooking with them. Why? Well, some years back I purchased a gorgeous and expensive French daubière, a half-green-glazed stew pot, and I guess I didn’t follow any precooking instructions, so my lovely pot and the beef Provençal that was in it blew apart all over the oven. What a miserable mess. After that I decided to just let my collection sit and be pretty. That is now changing. I’ve started cooking with them again, and not one of my pots has yet exploded. I’ve been coaxed on by my Cooking with Clay Facebook group, where they really understand how to work these things.

Several years ago I bought a cazuela in a Mexico City market, a covered clay pot decorated with a ring of white flowers. I was told I could cook in it, but privately I assumed it was just a touristy item that had no function other than getting greasy and fuzzy on my shelf. So that’s where it sat, until a few days ago when I just went for it. It cooked up a pot of calamari to perfection. The thing is partially glazed, so I checked with Paula Wolfert’s book Cooking in Clay to see how to handle it. Easy enough. Just soak it in water, rub a bit of oil on it, and then make sure not to startle it by going from hot to cold or cold to hot too fast.

Theoretically you’re supposed to be able to put the pot on a flame. I didn’t yet trust myself to pull that off, so I started my sauce in a conventional sauté pan and then put the squid and chickpeas in the clay pot, poured the sauce on top, covered it, and stuck it in the oven, raising the temperature gradually until it reached sweet simmer. It smelled amazing, like a mix of fresh calamari, spice, and clay. The more I use the pot, the better everything I cook in it will taste. I’m thinking I’ll reserve it for squid, octopus, and shellfish, so it retains a “memory”of good sea things.

I try not to be a snob about ingredients. I’m a little sick of hearing cooks cry out about “buy the best,” but in this case I was fascinated by the result of using differently sourced stuff. I made the dish twice, first with calamari I purchased at the Union Square Greenmarket and with dry chickpeas from Rancho Gordo. That was exceptional. So sweet and deep. Then I tried it again with squid from Citarella, which was fresh enough but gigantic and thick, and a can of precooked Spanish chickpeas. The outcome was good, but it lacked that richness, and the sauce was not as compelling. The interesting thing is that I didn’t spend more on the mediocre ingredients than on the good stuff. So it’s not always a matter or throwing money at a dish. I guess you just have to know where to shop.

Clay Pot Calamari with Sweet Spices

(Serves 4)

Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, diced
1 big fresh garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 fresh bay leaf
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pimenton d’espelette
Salt
A big splash of dry vermouth or dry Marsala
1 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, chopped and lightly drained
6 large thyme sprigs, the leaves lightly chopped
A big pinch of dried saffron, crumbled and then soaked in a few tablespoons of warm water
1½ to 2 pounds small squid, cut into thin rings and then patted dry, with a few trimmed tentacles thrown in
About 2 cups cooked chickpeas
A handful of basil leaves, lightly chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If you’ll be using a clay pot, make sure you prep it according to its instructions.

In a medium sauté pan, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot, garlic, sugar, bay leaf, and all the spices, plus a little salt. Sauté until the aroma is beautiful and the shallot is soft, about 4 minutes. Add the vermouth or Marsala, and let it bubble for a few seconds. Add the tomatoes, the thyme, and the saffron water, and simmer at a low bubble for 5 minutes.

Place the squid and the chickpeas in the clay pot. Pour the sauce over the top, and give it a quick stir. Cover the pot, and put it in the oven. Take a look in about 15 minutes to see if the sauce is simmering (it should be at a nice low bubble). If not, turn the heat up to 400 degrees and check it again in about 10 minutes. When you see it’s gotten up to temperature, let it go for about 45 minutes (it should start smelling really good after about ½ hour).

When it’s done, the squid should be tender. Pull the pot from the oven, uncover it, and let it sit for about 10 minutes so it can settle. Add the basil, and serve. I like to pour it into shallow soup bowls over a few slices of day-old country bread.

Note: If you’re not using a clay pot, simply add the squid and chickpeas to the sauté pan with the sauce, and simmer, covered, over low heat for about 45 minutes.