Spicy Cuttlefish with Olives and Wild Greens
Here's a great recipe from season 1, our first episode, the World's Most Famous Olive, dedicated to Greece's number one food export, olives, specifically the Kalamata. Great cook, olive farmer, and film director Manoussos Manousakis opened his home for the shoot. We cooked together and I collected olives with his son, musician Manolis Manoussakis. Enjoy! To find some of the artisinal Greek products you'll need to make this, visit my online shop here, where you'll discover a host of lovingly curated Greek ingredients.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds / 1.5 k cuttlefish cleaned
- 3 pounds / 1 k chicory escarole, or Greek stamnagathi greens, trimmed
- 1 ½ - 2 cups Kalamata olives whole in red wine vinegar
- 3-4 whole red chile peppers
- Ink from 3 cuttlefish if available
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2 cups fresh juice from yellow tomatoes
- 1 cup fresh tomato juice from red tomatoes
- 1 cup extra virgin Greek olive oil
- Black pepper to taste
- Salt to taste
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350F/170C.
-
Cut cuttlefish in chunks. Place in a clay pot. Add garlic, chilies, ink, olives with a tablespoon or two of their brine, olive oil, and tomato juices. Stir gently to combine.
-
Cover and bake for about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, add the greens and stir. Cover and cook for another 20 minutes.
-
Remove, cool slightly, and serve.
Notes
How to Cure Kalamata Olives
Wash and score the olives in 3 places using a sharp paring knife.
Prepare a 10% salt brine: For every 10 cups of water, for example, you will need 1 cup of salt.
Place the brine and olives in a large jug or jar, the lid for which closes tightly. Let the olives sit in the brine for two weeks.
