Stuffed Squid 🦑 Dalmatian Style 🇭🇷 (Punjene Lignje)

Description

Tender squid stuffed with a savory mix of rice, tentacles, herbs, and a touch of smoked pork, baked in a garlicky white wine sauce—coastal comfort. 🌿🍋

Hook: From pan to oven in 45 minutes—juicy, aromatic, crowd-pleasing. ⚡

Ingredients

• Squid & filling
• 🦑 Whole squid, cleaned (keep tentacles): 800 g (6–8 small / 1.8 lb)
• 🧅 Onion, very fine dice: 120 g (1 cup / 4.2 oz)
• 🧄 Garlic, minced: 8 g (2 cloves / 0.3 oz)
• 🥓 Smoked bacon/pancetta, finely diced (optional): 60 g (½ cup / 2.1 oz)
• 🌾 Medium-grain rice, rinsed: 90 g (½ cup / 3.2 oz)
• 🌿 Flat-leaf parsley, chopped: 8 g (2 tbsp / 0.28 oz)
• 🍋 Lemon zest: 1 tsp (2 g / 0.07 oz)
• 🫒 Olive oil: 30 ml (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• 🧂 Salt: to taste (≈5 g / 1 tsp)
• ⚫ Black pepper: ½ tsp (1 g / 0.04 oz)
• Baking sauce
• 🫒 Olive oil: 30 ml (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• 🧄 Garlic, thinly sliced: 6 g (2 cloves / 0.2 oz)
• 🍷 Dry white wine: 120 ml (½ cup / 4 fl oz)
• 💧 Water or fish stock: 120 ml (½ cup / 4 fl oz)
• 🍅 Tomato paste: 10 g (2 tsp / 0.35 oz)
• 🍋 Lemon juice: 10 ml (2 tsp / 0.34 fl oz)
• 🧂 Salt & ⚫ pepper: to taste

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Par-cook rice: Simmer rice 7–8 min in salted water; drain (still firm).
2. 2️⃣ Filling: Sauté onion in olive oil 5–6 min. Add garlic 30 sec. Stir in diced pancetta 2–3 min (skip for pescatarian). Chop squid tentacles; add with rice, parsley, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Cool 2–3 min.
3. 3️⃣ Stuff: Spoon filling into squid bodies to ~¾ full (rice expands). Secure openings with toothpicks.
4. 4️⃣ Brown: In an oven-safe skillet, sear stuffed squid in olive oil 1–2 min/side to lightly color; remove.
5. 5️⃣ Sauce: In the same pan, add sliced garlic 30 sec, then wine, stock, tomato paste, and lemon juice; simmer 2 min and season.
6. 6️⃣ Bake: Return squid to the pan, spoon sauce over, and bake 15–18 min at 190°C / 375°F until just cooked. Rest 5 min; slice thickly and serve with pan juices.

Total Time

🕒 Prep: 20 min
🔥 Cook: 25 min
⏳ Total: 45 min

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