Calamari and Pasta

Since I had a crazy cartoon shrimp for my shrimp sauce entry in this week's blog, I thought I'd better add one for my calamari and pasta recipe as well.
By the expression in his eyes, this little squid has an idea about his fate. Ah, no greater love hath a squid then to lay down his life for a tasty plate of pasta.

When you buy squid, you can save yourself some money by cleaning it yourself which is not that difficult.  My sister and I pulled a few calamari cleaning marathons a few months ago in Arizona when we (I?) bought quite a bit of nice looking calamari at a good price.  Some went into fried calamari and some went into calamari and angel hair pasta, one of my favorite ways to have this and very simple as well.

You can cut back (or leave out, if you wish) the red chili flakes if you want to cut down on the heat.



 Angel Hair Pasta with Calamari Sauce



1/2 pound calamari cleaned and sliced into rings, tentacles
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons chili flakes
1/2 cup dry white wine
14 oz can tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/2 pound angel hair pasta
grated pecorino*

Heat olive oil in large skillet and add calamari, garlic and chili flakes. Cook stirring on medium high heat until calamari firm up and garlic turns a light golden. Add wine and let bubble away for a few minutes. Add tomatoes and mash with back of spoon. Cook at a gentle but constant simmer for about twenty-five minutes mashing tomato until broken up.
Meanwhile, boil pasta in plenty of salted water until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain well and add to skillet tossing well in the sauce.
Add chopped parsley and toss again. Serve with pecorino on the side.

* Yes, I know that it is considered gauche in some circles to serve  grated cheese with seafood but I would rather be ridiculed than go without.  And, yes, I have asked for grated cheese for seafood pasta in Italy and was graciously obliged without the merest hint of a flinch on my server's face.