Stuffed squid may sound like a challenge but it ain’t, these are filled with brown rice, chorizo & spring onions & cooked in a tomato sauce.
Cooking this dish takes around an hour, but there are no tricky techniques and if you buy frozen squid the preparation is super simple too!
Brown Rice Stuffed Calamari with Chorizo
Squid does not appear here too often, but it is an ingredient I love to cook with an eat.
This recipe joins my salt and pepper squid and fried calamari ring recipes.
My stuffed squid takes a little longer to prepare than those but it is really easy and looks really rather fancy.
It’s very much “Mediterranean” in influence featuring both Spanish chorizo sausage and Italian influences with the tomato sauce.
I also have a delicious chorizo gnocchi recipe with similar Italian and Spanish crossover influences.
My version of this recipe stuffs the tubes with nutty wholegrain brown rice rather than the usual white rice.
I find brown rice works great as a stuffing and also use it in my grilled stuffed mushrooms. I think it adds both a wonderful and texture when it is “cooked” twice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use frozen squid?
Please do! Even better if it is prepared for you, but do try and get it with the tentacles as these add so much to the stuffing.
What size squid should I use?
You do not want anything too large or thick, mine weigh in at a prepared weight of 11-20 per kilo (halve that if you work in pounds) .
Is there a secret to cooking brown rice?
Yes, treat it like pasta, lots of very well-salted water and drain it as soon as it is cooked.
There are many types of brown rice, look for the stuff that takes around half an hour to cook.
Can I cook the rice in advance?
Yes, cooked brown rice will be fine in the fridge for 3-4 days. If you do that then this stuffed squid tubes recipe becomes really quick!
Serving Suggestions
I’ve kept the sides for this recipe really simple, just some lambs lettuce and some sprouted onion seeds.
But if you wanted to go a bit more substantial it would work really well with some crispy fried potatoes.
Whatever you do make sure you add a bit of bread to mop out the pan and your plate.
I like using a bit of ciabatta bread with some chopped sun-dried tomatoes through it.
Equipment Used
I only name-check brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Stovetop.
- 18cm or 12″ saucepan.
- 28cm or 11″ frying pan or skillet with a lid. You can improvise a lid with tin foil if needed.
- Chopping board.
- Kicthen knife.
- Toothpicks.
- Mixing bowl.
- Stirring and serving spoons.
- Weighing scales and or measuring jug, cups and spoons.
Brown Rice Stuffed Squid Recipe
If you love seafood then this chorizo and brown rice stuffed squid recipe is one for you, delicious and really nowhere near as hard as you think, in fact, it is really easy, but I'll not tell anyone if you don't!
Ingredients
- 135g (⅔ Cup) Brown Rice
- 8 (around 350g total) Small Squid
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 (35g) Shallot
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- ½ Tsp Chilli Flakes
- 50g (1½oz) Cooking Chorizo
- 250ml (1 Cup) White Wine
- 2 Spring Onions
- 225g (1 Cup) Tomato Passata
- 10 Cherry Tomatoes
- Salt to Taste
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a 18cm or 7" saucepan of well-salted water (around 1 teaspoon in a pan this size) to a boil and add the brown rice and cook until al dente, usually 25-30 minutes.
- Clean the squid and roughly chop the tentacles.
- Dice the shallot and garlic as finely as you can.
- Heat a 28cm or 12" frying pan over a medium heat when hot add the olive oil.
- Throw in the Chorizo, shallot, garlic, and chilli flakes then cook for 3-4 minutes stirring regularly.
- Add the Squid tentacles and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Pour in half of the white wine and reduce almost completely scraping the bottom of the pan as you go.
- Drain the brown rice and add to the pan with the chorizo and stir to combine.
- Transfer the rice mix to a separate bowl and wipe out the frying pan, no need to thoroughly clean.
- Finely slice the spring onions and stir through the rice mix and allow to cool a little for 5 minutes.
- Return the frying pan to the heat and pour in the remaining white wine and reduce by half.
- Pour in the tomato passata and reduce the heat to medium low.
- Taste and season the tomato with salt and pepper.
- Pierce the tip of each squid tube with a toothpick.
- Stuff the squid tubes with the rice mix taking care to only fill 75%-85% as they will shrink.
- Secure the open end of the squid tubes by weaving through a toothpick.
- Sprinkle the remaining rice mix over the tomato sauce, there should be around ¼-⅓ left.
- Place the squid tubes on top and add a lid.
- Cook on a low-medium heat for 20-25 minutes.
- Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and throw them into the pan for the last 10 minutes of cooking time.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 585Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 430mgSodium: 704mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 5gSugar: 8gProtein: 38g
Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.