It’s not well known abroad but we Greeks are huge fans of pasta dishes. There are many famous dishes in our cuisine that have as their basic ingredient different types of pasta. We combine pasta with anything even seafood, a combination that makes the most mouthwatering dishes and it brings us to our new blog post!

So in today’s post we’ve got calamari with pasta. Calamari is very common in our seas and when cooked with pasta the Greek way, it gives a delicious rich dish, a true staple of our cuisine. And it matches perfectly with a glass of our wonderful Greek rosés!

Ingredients

I kilo calamari (fresh or frozen) –cut the bodies into 2cm rings, keep the tentacles

1 large onion finely chopped

1 can chopped tomatoes (you can use fresh ones if you like)

2 tablespoons tomato paste (dissolved in ½ glass water)

½ dry white wine

½ cup esti extra virgin olive oil

2 bay leaves

Salt

Pepper

2-3 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley

400 gr small shaped pasta like ditalini for instance (or mini pasta tubes)

In a large saucepan heat the olive oil over low to medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the wine and simmer a couple of minutes more. Add the calamari and sauté for a few minutes. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, the dissolved tomato paste, salt and pepper, bay leaves and some water. Cover and let simmer for ½ hour.

In the meantime bring to boil salted water. Cook the pasta half the time required for al dente. Drain and add quickly to saucepan. Let the pasta cook in the sauce. If more liquid is needed add some hot water, but not too much, in the end we want the pasta cooked and the sauce thick. Remove from heat, remove bay leaves, add the parsley, stir gently and serve immediately.