Spaghettini with calamari

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 350 g spaghetti, thin, spaghettini, or capellini, which are even thinner
• 400 g squid(s) (calamaretti), fresh, not frozen or from a can
• ½ peperoncini, finely chopped
• 250 g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 4 tbsp olive oil, best quality
• 1 handful of fresh basil, finely chopped
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 15 minutes

thin spaghetti with small squid

This is a quick and easy summer dish, perhaps as a starter before a nice barbecue. If you don’t want anything else, you should increase the quantities by at least half. Pull the tentacles and entrails out of the calamaretti and cut them off just above the eyes to keep them together. Squeeze out the chewing organs from the tentacles and discard. Peel the skin off the bag and remove the transparent whalebone. Wash the tentacles and bag thoroughly and pat dry. This sounds more complicated than it actually is and doesn’t take long. Cook the spaghettini according to the package instructions until al dente and then drain. While the spaghettini is cooking, heat the oil, fry the calamaretti with the garlic for a total of no more than 2 minutes, turning once. Add the tomatoes and chili pepper, season with salt, a little pepper, stir in the basil and let everything stand for a maximum of 1 minute. Then mix with the slightly moist spaghettini. If you take too long, you’ll unfortunately end up with tough calamari, so you’ll need to be alert during this quick preparation and have all the ingredients ready. If you’re using capellini, be aware of the very short cooking time for this type of pasta, but even spaghettini takes less time to cook than the thicker spaghetti. A guideline is given on the package, but it’s best to check the doneness every now and then. Nothing is worse than overcooked pasta.