Seppie con piselli (Roman Style Braised Squid with Peas)

Seppie con piselli in umido is a traditional Roman dish pairing cuttlefish with peas braised in tomato sauce. Strange as it may seem, squid and peas were made for each other. The sweetness of peas sets off the brinyness of squid perfectly, and the savoriness of a tomato sauce brings it all together nicely. 

The recipe follows the typical pattern for countless Italian braises. You start, as usual, with a flavor base or soffritto. It’s a supremely simple one of onion—which helps accentuate the sweetness of the peas—sautéed in olive oil, to which I sometimes add a tiny bit of garlic for savor. Then in goes the cut up cuttlefish to mingle with the aromatics for a few minutes, followed by a splash of white wine, which you cook off before adding tomato, either a lot or just a bit as you prefer. Or, for that matter, none at all. Then you cover the pot and let the cuttlefish braise gently until tender. The peas go towards the end of cooking and simmer until they’re done.

It’s an iterative process that layers flavor upon flavor, balancing savory and sweet notes to produce a harmonious whole. And yet, it all come together in less than an hour.

Since cuttlefish is hard to find where I live, I make this dish with squid, which is a bit less ‘meaty’ than cuttlefish but still works perfectly.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6 persons

• 500g (1 lb) cuttlefish or squid, cleaned and cut up into rings
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 300g (7 oz) canned tomatoes, crushed or passed through a food mill, or passata
• 250g (1/2 lb) peas, frozen or fresh
• White wine
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil

Directions

In a large braiser or sauté pan, gently sauté the chopped onion in abundant olive oil until soft and translucent. If using, add the minced garlic and sauté for just a few seconds until you can smell its aroma.

Add the cuttlefish/squid to the pan. Allow the pieces to sauté along with the onion to absorb the flavors for a few minutes, seasoning with the salt and pepper. (It will probably shed quite a bit of water, but that’s perfectly normal. No need to try to boil if off.) 

Add a splash of white wine, allow it to cook off for a few minutes, until you can no longer smell the alcohol.

Add the tomatoes, mix everything well, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer very gently until the cuttlefish/squid is perfectly tender. (See Notes below regarding cooking times.) Add water from time to time as needed, if the sauce becomes too dense.

When the cuttlefish/squid is tender, uncover the pot and add the peas. Continue simmering until the peas are just tender, about 5 minutes if frozen, 15-20 if fresh.

Taste and adjust for seasoning and serve hot. 

Notes on seppie con piselli

As you can see, this is a truly easy peasy recipe If you’re using pre-cleaned baby cuttlefish or squid and frozen peas, you should be able to whip it up in a half hour. Double that time if you’re using mature seafood and fresh peas.

Cooking times

As mentioned at the top, you can use the traditional cuttlefish for this dish or squid. They both come in different sizes, which will determine its cooking times.

It’s a truism that you need to cook these cephalopods either for a very short time over high heat (as in fried calamari) or low and slow. It’s the latter method you use here. Cooking times can vary enormously depending on the size and age, from about 20-30 minutes for baby squid to 45-60 minutes for mature cuttlefish. The best method is just to taste as you go.

If you’re using mature cuttlefish or squid, you can cut down the cooking times with a pressure cooker. Once you are ready to simmer the squid and tomatoes, bring the cooker up to pressure and cook for 15-20 minutes. Then release the pressure quickly and proceed as per the recipe. You may find that the sauce is a bit thin—there is very little evaporation in pressure cooking. If so, just simmer uncovered for a few minutes to reduce before adding the peas.

Prepping cuttlefish and squid

If there was any complication to making this dish back in the day, it was in the cleaning of the cuttlefsh or squid. The method is essentially the same for both: You pull the head off, then remove the cuttlebone and innards from its insides. For large cuttlefish you should remove the purple skin. Then you pull the tentacles off the hard body, gingerly remove the ink sac and cut away the beak and eyes. Rinse everything under cold water, then cut the head into rings and, if large, the tentcles into bite sized pieces. If this all seems overwhelming, check out this step by step guide or watch this video:

Fortunately, these days cuttlefish and squid are often sold already pre-cleaned and sometimes also pre-cut. Or you can ask your fishmonger to clean the cuttlefish or squid for you. 

The peas

As for the peas, I generally use frozen ones, which are easy to find and really quite good. If you are using fresh peas, make sure they are really fresh. My own experience with fresh peas has been pretty disappointing. They tend to be ‘over the hill’, lacking sweetness and having a mealy texture. Frozen peas take almost no time to cook, 5 minutes or less, while fresh ones will take about 15 minutes.

Variations

If you like, add a bit of hot red pepper to the soffrito, but if you do, go easy. Too much spice would overwhelm the flavors of both the peas and the squid. Some recipes have you add minced parsely to the soffritto or sometimes at the end. Others call for shallot instead of onion.

As mentioned, feel free to add more or less tomato as your like. And if you prefer, use cherry tomatoes instead of canned or passata. You can also make seppie con piselli in bianco, which is to say without tomato. After the wine, add water or vegetable broth to almost cover the cuttlefish/squid and proceed to braise per the main recipe.

A recipe for seppie coi piselli, by the way, is mentioned in Artusi. His version is made in bianco  and the soffrito is made with garlic and parsley in addition to the onion. And, according to Le ricette regionali italiane (Solaris 1995) a similar dish—in a tomato sauce but minus the peas—is called sepe a’ la veneziana, or Venetian-style cuttlefish. A nearly identical dish to the Venetian one but made with calamari instead of cuttlefish, called calamari in umido, or stewed calamari, is included in La cucina napoletana (Newton Compton 1992). Clearly, this dish gets around…

Making seppie con piselli ahead

Like many braised dishes, you can make seppie con piselli entirely ahead and reheat it when you’re ready to heat. That said, if you want to preserve the brightness of the peas, I’d braise the cuttlefish/squid ahead and then add the peas when you reheat it. They only take a few minutes, enough time for the seafood to heat through.

Print Recipe

No ratings yet

Seppie con piselli (Roman Style Braised Squid with Peas)

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Lazio

Keyword: braised

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 500 g cuttlefish or squid, cleaned and cut up into rings
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 1-2 cloves of garlic finely minced
• 300 g canned tomatoes crushed or passed through a food mill, or passata
• 250 g peas frozen or fresh
• White wine
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil

Metric – US

Instructions

• In a large braiser or sauté pan, gently sauté the chopped onion in abundant olive oil until soft and translucent. If using, add the minced garlic and sauté for just a few seconds until you can smell its aroma.
• Add the cuttlefish/squid to the pan. Allow the pieces to sauté along with the onion to absorb the flavors for a few minutes, seasoning with the salt and pepper. (It will probably shed quite a bit of water, but that’s perfectly normal. No need to try to boil if off.)
• Add a splash of white wine, allow it to cook off for a few minutes, until you can no longer smell the alcohol.
• Add the tomatoes, mix everything well, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer very gently until the cuttlefish/squid is perfectly tender. (See Notes below regarding cooking times.) Add water from time to time as needed, if the sauce becomes too dense.
• When the cuttlefish/squid is tender, uncover the pot and add the peas. Continue simmering until the peas are just tender, about 5 minutes if frozen, 15-20 if fresh.
• Taste and adjust for seasoning and serve hot.

And you might also like...

Cavolfiore in salsa di acciughe (Cauliflower in Anchovy Sauce) Salmone in crosta (Salmon en croûte) Carbonade valdostana Polpette alla carbonara Ragù d’agnello e peperoni (Lamb and Red Pepper Ragù) Ribollita (Tuscan Minestrone) Bigoli in salsa Ravioli nudi (Spinach and Ricotta Dumplings) Zeppole di San Giuseppe Carciofi alla romana (Roman Style Artichokes)