Christmas Calamari – a tradition at Jax’s house

RECIPE OF THE MONTH:

This month’s Food Adventure recipe features our resident Italian mom, Jackie Scanlan, aka “Hungry Jax.” This active foodie has a passion for food, is always hungry, and somehow always stays thin. Speaking of skinny

HERE’S THE SKINNY on CHRISTMAS CALAMARI by Jax:

The Italian Christmas Eve tradition of “The Feast of the Seven Fishes” has always been one of my favorite meals of the year. I can remember my grandparents’ house filled with the fragrance of the sea. Fried smelts, broiled scallops, shrimp cocktail were just a few staples for that night. My favorite dish is what I’ve dubbed as Christmas Calamari, which is dish of linguini piled high with a chunky white wine marinara and fresh calamari. While you can use frozen calamari in a pinch, I highly recommend using fresh. Dorothy Lane Market or Foremost Seafood will happily help you get the best calamari for this dish. I’ve always just used the rings, but the tentacles add a great amount of flavor as well. You can prep this sauce and freeze it ahead of time, then add the calamari that night. This sauce is also great without the calamari if you have some family that may not be fans of the sea!

Sauce is life !

Here is a definite MUST EAT you can fix at home !

Christmas Calamari

You’ll Need:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 cans diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 tsp crushed red pepper 9or more if you like it spicy)
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper (1/2 if you’re using finely ground)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup chopped parsley (reserve about 1tbs to use for garnish)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2lb calamari rings
zest of 1 lemon and Parmesan cheese for serving
1lb linguini

DIRECTIONS:
On medium heat in a medium saucepan, saute garlic in olive oil until fragrant (about 2 minutes).
Add in diced tomatoes (juice and all), red crushed pepper, black pepper and salt. Once tomatoes are starting to come to a low boil, lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, start the water to boil the pasta and follow the directions as noted on the package.
After simmering for 20 minutes, add the white wine and parsley. Continue to simmer until your pasta is done.
While draining your pasta, add the calamari to the sauce. They only take 3-5 minutes so do not overcook or else they become rubbery.

Ladle sauce on top of your pasta and garnish with lemon zest, parsley and Parmesan cheese.
Seasons Eatings! ~ Jax

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your loved ones from the Food Adventure Crew.

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