Cuttlefish with spinach is a traditional dish of Greek cuisine, and I associate it with Lent. It is a very tasty and distinctive olive-oil-based dish that combines seafood with fresh spinach and can absolutely be eaten all year round. Personally… I remember cuttlefish especially in the period before Easter—perhaps even during Holy Week, at times like this…
Fortunately, cuttlefish is easy to find all year round, fresh and even more easily frozen. Spinach too, fresh or frozen, is abundant in both forms. Herbs such as dill and fennel are plentiful, especially now in spring.
With the Aroma of Fennel
What gives this dish its special “touch” is the flavor and wonderful aroma of fennel, such a distinctive herb. When fennel is added to a dish and begins to cook, it gives off aromas of ouzo or fennel bulb. The house truly smells wonderful.
The delicate flavor of fennel, that hint of ouzo it gives, is just right with seafood, so if you really like its taste, you can add a larger amount—it is worth it.
INGREDIENTS
(for 2 servings)
- 600 g cuttlefish, net weight
- 600 g spinach, net weight
- 1 shot of tsipouro or half a cup of wine
- 1 dry onion, finely chopped
- 6-7 spring onions, finely chopped, including a good amount of their green parts
- dill (about half a cup, chopped)
- fennel (about half a cup, chopped)
- a few mint leaves (8-10)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 100 ml olive oil
- salt, pepper
- lemon for serving
With the automatic ingredient converter from Foodurismo, easily see how many grams or ml correspond to each cup. Try it here!
INSTRUCTIONS
Clean and wash the cuttlefish. Clean and wash the vegetables and herbs well.
In a pot, add the dry onion and the spring onions along with the olive oil and sauté lightly for 2-3 minutes. Then add the cuttlefish cut into large pieces, meaning that one cuttlefish is cut into 5 pieces.
Continue to sauté, stirring. Deglaze with the alcohol and let it evaporate for 1-2 minutes.
Add the tomato paste to the pot and stir.
Now it is time for the spinach. There is no need to chop it here; add the leaves as they are, sprinkle them with a little salt, and stir them gently with a wooden spoon until they wilt. The heat should be medium to high.
Chop the herbs—the dill, fennel, and mint—add a little more salt if you want and plenty of pepper, lower the heat, and let the dish simmer for 40-50 minutes.
When the dish is ready, remove it from the heat, squeeze over some lemon, and serve.
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