the power of suggestion

sunday afternoon, i spoke to my mom.

she mentioned a turkey roasting in 

her oven. sweet potatoes on the counter

would either be

steamed

or 

mashed 

and then to cap it all off,

she was making pearl onions in a

cream sauce.

pearl onions. i have a new found love 

for the tiny little globes.

in spite of the fact,

that i'm sure we must have eaten 

them growing up,

i feel i only start recognizing them,

appreciating them,

and now, 

craving them,

recently.

that was all it took -

i'm very easy to convince -

i wanted pearl onions.

that night.

i've often been

roped into ordering a meal

i would only mildly consider thanks to 

of a small dollop of guacamole, 

the addition of charred corn, 

roasted poblano peppers,

a sprinkling of coconut 

or the promise of lime. 

i've watched a commercial 

that focuses on crab legs and think of little

else until i'm able to steam them myself or

get to a restaurant. 

and i have craved diet soda 

so badly before i went to sleep, 

that it was the first thing that 

popped into my head when i woke up -

um, ok, maybe that last one is more 

of what some people might call an addiction.

don't even start me on ikura

my all time favorite and top repeat offender

craving.

s0 when the pearl onions

were put in my head, i knew i had to 

incorporate them into dinner.

i also knew that i didn't have an extra

turkey hanging around and that a saucepan

of pearl onions - even if i added a cream sauce -

wouldn't be enough.

then, i thought of a sara moulton recipe, 

that i made last year when stuck 

inside on a snow day, 

had a lot of time to

monkey around in the kitchen - 

and was out one bag of pearl onions, 

fresh or frozen.

but made it anyway, 

with a sweet walla walla.

the squid stew! i had been meaning to make it again,

with modifications that you can only

decide are a good idea

after preparing a recipe 

once.

and coincidentally, i had been jonesing for 

fried calamari for days 

(one in particular, actually...from a restaurant

in boston 

that we visited for my sister's 

grad school graduation 

- they fry pieces of 

hot peppers 

in with the seafood

so the mixture is

crunchy and 

spicy and 

tender.

but i digress). 

while this dish is almost 

unrecognizable to those

who know squid only be

be fried and dipped in

marinara,

its tender rings 

would most likely make 

any seafood lover, 

a convert.

i'm crazy for a good plan,

especially one, like this one,

that involves

tons of garlic,

red pepper flakes,

white wine 

and 

a slowish simmer on a 

cold february day.

this stew, is not particularly

time consuming, but it's not a 

flash in the pan either. you have

to dice an onion, peel and slice 

10 cloves of garlic (yes, 10) 

and cut and dry 

the tubes and tentacles. once 

all the ingredients 

are in the pan, softened

and bubbly,

you simmer for 45 minutes. 

and there are 

a couple other steps, 

like cooking the 

pearl onions, 

halving olives and 

prepping artichokes. 

but its the best kind of recipe 

because all of these things are finished

before your stew-timer has even buzzed.

i've made a few,

sanity-saving changes,

by switching the whole artichokes,

which the original recipe asks you

to trim,

peel,

boil

and 

cut into pieces,

to jarred. in this application,

i think (or like to believe, anyway),

it is totally acceptable. i've also, believing

that i have acquired enough experience

scoring,

blanching 

and 

peeling pearl onions,

exchanged the fresh for half a bag of frozen,

used kalamata and large green olives

instead of nicoise,

a red onion for yellow,

reduced the olive oil significantly,

added red pepper flakes for heat,

oregano for flavor,

and 

lemon juice for brightness.

oh, as for the first 

photo in this post. 

this stew is light 

and, yet pleasantly filling, surprisingly tender 

and textured, 

full of flavor,

ideally absorbed with warm crusty bread  

and bursting with exciting ingredients.

it is all that.

but it is

not especially

pretty - up close - in front of a 

lense.

mediterranean squid stew with pearl onions, artichokes and olives

adapted from sara moulton and gourmet magazine

your fishmonger should sell cleaned squid, so don't worry about that part of it. after you cut the tubes into rings, it is very important to dry the squid well (then check the paper towel for errant pieces - those little things are clingy). if there's a lot of extra moisture when they hit the pan, they'll expell their liquid and steam, rather than saute. this took me a couple of rounds of paper towels. also, the orignal recipe calls for 3 1/2 cups of canned tomatoes, drained and diced. i prefer to (wash my hands), and use my fingers to break up the tomatoes right in the pot. i think it's less structured, and honestly, less messy this way. just make sure to squeeze low down in the pot so that your walls do not get splattered.

2 pounds cleaned squid, bodies cut into rings and tentacles left whole

3 Tbs. olive oil, divided

1/4-1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (depending on your heat preference)

1 medium red onion, peeled and finely chopped

10 cloves garlic, peeled, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 tsp. fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1 can (32 oz.) whole, peeled plum tomatoes, like San Marzano

1 cup white wine

8 oz. frozen pearl onions

1 jar (12 oz.) quartered artichokes (not marinated)

1/2 cup pitted kalamata and green olives, halved

1/2 lemon, juiced 

dry calamari well. in large heavy pot over medium heat, warm 2 Tbs. olive oil and red pepper flakes. when hot, add onions; cook onions 5 minutes, stirring occassionally, or until onions are translucent. add garlic, thyme and oregano; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. add calamari and cook 2 minutes more, stirring occassionally. add white wine. add chopped tomatoes into pot or use your hands to break them up inside the pot. add liquid from can. bring to a boil; cover. reduce heat to low and simmer 45 minutes.

in small saucepan, combine remaining olive oil and pearl onions. add enough water so that onions are halfway submerged. bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, partially-covered, 15 minutes, or until liquid has evaporated and onions are slightly glazed. set aside. drain and rinse artichokes. drain and rinse olives (to reduce the saltiness). 

when the 45 minutes are up, uncover the stew and boil for a few minutes to thicken, if necessary (watch the squid to make sure they don't toughen). stir in glazed pearl onions, artichokes and olives. let cook 3o seconds. stir in lemon juice. remove from heat and ladle into bowls.