Seppioline Con Piselli

Cuttlefish and Peas

Cuttlefish and peas is a delicious dish that's easy and quick to make. This traditional recipe features two versions, the main difference being whether or not tomato is used. Here is a recipe for Seppioline Con Piselli in bianco ("in white"), which is the way I prefer the dish to be served. If you would like to try it with tomato just add some while the dish is still cooking.

Ingredients 

600 g of clean cuttlefish

300 g of peas, removed from the pod

1/2 glass white wine

1 clove of garlic, chopped

Extra virgin olive oil

Chili pepper

Parsley

Salt

Pepper

Preparation 

Fresh Peas

Boil the peas in water for five minutes.

Fry the garlic and chili in the oil over medium high heat. Remove when the garlic starts to brown.

Add the cuttlefish and brown in the pan for 5 minutes.

Soften with wine and let it evaporate for a minute over high heat. Then add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the peas and let cook for a few minutes over high heat. If you would like to try to version with tomatos, add them now.

When cooked add the cuttlefish to the peas and sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving.

A simple and delicious recipe that includes a vegetable that has featured promiently in mouth watering dishes for centuries! Peas were a huge hit in the court of Louis XIV, as this excerpt from a 1696 letter from the Madam de Maintenon shows: "The chapter of the peas still lasts: the eagerness to eat it, the pleasure of having eaten it, the joy to be able to still eat it are the three points and the principles we have been dealing with for four days. There are ladies that after having dined with the king, arrive home and have some peas prepared to eat them before going to sleep, in spite of the risk of indigestion. It is a fashion, a craze."

In those days the French liked their peas very green, before maturation. Other vegetables also in fashion during the 17th century include artichokes, asparagus, mushrooms, and zucchini.

Cuttlefish

It is thought that peas were a craze that may have come from Italy, where vegetables enjoyed a certain prestige on ladylike tables by the end of the Middle Ages, before entering the traditional cuisine of the country. Peasants adopted the recipe of "Fried Peas in Salty Meat" included by Teacher Martino in his famous mid-15th century cookbook, the archetype of peas cooked with ham which remains a typical Italian dish.  So why not try peas with cuttlefish, a more modern recipe using an old favorite?