This recipe is also in my family's tradition: it was the first plate my grandmother cooked for my grandfather and he fell in love for her right away ( apart from her classically beautiful face with big blue eyes) ! The truth is that this is a modest but very tasty plate to serve as a main dish, but also as an appetizer- aka GREEK MEZE. The only problem: make sure you have enough wine/ouzo or tsipouro because once you start eating it, you won't stop until the plate is completely empty!
Ingredients ( 4 portions) :
1kg cleaned cuttlefish (sliced) - if you buy them fresh, clean and slice them but keep the ink for your sauce
2 garlic cloves smashed and mixed with olive oil
3/4 spring onions (finely chopped)
salt or fleur de sel for even better result ( just the tiniest pinch of salt you can get with two of your fingers)
2 bay leaves
1tsp brown sugar
Preparation:
1) Rinse the olives with water very well and boil them twice for a couple of minutes, changing the water in between. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! If you skip this step, the plate will be so salty that you will not be able to eat at all!
2) Prepare the cuttlefish. Heat the olive oil and add the onions and the garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes until soft and add the cuttlefish.
2) Keep sautéing, until the colour changes and then, pour in the wine.
3) Wait for 1 minute until the alcohol evaporates and add the tomato, the salt ( remember: very very little), the pepper, the bay leaves, the sugar, some water (approximately 250g) and cook for approximately 20 minutes, until the cuttlefish is quite soft.
4) Add the olives and the fennel, and cook for another 5-10 minutes, until the cuttlefish is soft and the sauce has thickened.
Love,
Katsikaki ( aka Baby Goat)