Hello!
This is one of my favorite types of sauce ever! I grew up with my mom making calamari sauce every Christmas Eve. It’s incredible. The calamari really gives the sauce so much flavor, and it really is a very hearty sauce. I could eat this over anything, not just pasta. Seriously. It’s just that good!
This is a bigger batch of sauce. Not nearly as big as I normally make, but you could easily get three large containers to freeze out of it, plus dinner for that night.
This is a great sauce to have in the freezer in case you’re ever in a pinch.
Anddddd…it’s wonderful for Christmas Eve!
I hope you enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 3 – 28oz cans of crushed tomato sauce
- 1 bulb of garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 1.5 lb of calamari, bodies and tentacles
- 1 cup of basil, rinsed and dried
- 1.5 tbsp of granulated sugar
- 2 tsp of garlic powder
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1.5 cup of fresh parsley, rinsed, dried, and chopped
Directions:
- Rinse the calamari bodies and tentacles, making sure the spine bone is cleaned out of the bodies. Cut the bodies into 1 inch pieces.
- In a small sauce pan coat with extra virgin olive oil and heat on medium.
- Add calamari and parsley to small sauce pan, stirring often so it doesn’t stick.
- Drain excess liquid until no liquid is released from the calamari. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- When the calamari is soft, remove from the heat and set aside.
- In a large stock pot, coat the bottom with extra virgin olive oil and heat on medium.
- Add onion and sauté until translucent.
- Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add crushed tomato sauce to the pot.
- Add basil.
- Add 2 tsp of garlic powder.
- Add 1.5 tbsp of granulated sugar.
- Add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Add the calamari to the sauce.
- Simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally.
NOTE: Any leftover sauce can be frozen.
See photos below for examples:
- Rinse the calamari bodies and tentacles, making sure the spine bone is cleaned out of the bodies. Cut the bodies into 1 inch pieces.
- In a small sauce pan coat with extra virgin olive oil and heat on medium.
- Add calamari and parsley to small sauce pan, stirring often so it doesn’t stick.
- Drain excess liquid until no liquid is released from the calamari. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- When the calamari is soft, remove from the heat and set aside.
- In a large stock pot, coat the bottom with extra virgin olive oil and heat on medium.
- In a large stock pot, coat the bottom with extra virgin olive oil and heat on medium.
- Add onion and sauté until translucent.
- Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add crushed tomato sauce to the pot.
- Add basil.
- Add 2 tsp of garlic powder.
- Add 1.5 tbsp of granulated sugar.
- Add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Add the calamari to the sauce.
- Simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally.
Enjoy!
