Baked cuttlefish with cauliflower in light tomato sauce

Mussels, octopus, shrimps, squids and cuttlefish are so versatile and they can join us at the table as a meze or as a main meal depending on how we cook them. Some of us when thinking of the sea food our minds travel back to sunny beaches and Summer time but we can enjoy them all year round in different luscious recipes. Here we have a simple but so tasty dish with cuttlefish which can be served as it is or along with some nice rice pilaf. Good chance to have something different on a Sunday especially after all that meat and poultry we consumed during the Festive period

Recipe of Makis Georgiadis,

"BHMAgourmet" magazine of "TO BHMA" newspaper (2010)

Ingredients (for 4 people):
1 Kg of cuttlefish, cleaned (fresh or frozen)
8 tbsp of olive oil
500 gr. of cauliflower, cut in florets
2 large yellow onions, cut in slices
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
4 all-spice kernels
50 ml white dry wine
300 gr.  tomatoes concassé
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 large orange, zest and juice (unwaxed)
salt
black pepper

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

In a wide but not too deep pot, warm the olive oil in medium to high heat. Sauté the onions, the garlic and the cauliflower florets for about 3 minutes stirring with a wooden spoon.

Add the cuttlefish and the spices and sauté for 1-2 more minutes. Pour over with the wine. When the alcohol is evaporated add the tomatoes, the tomato paste and stir. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook for another 15 minutes.

Transfer the food into a clay pot (or other dish with a lid), add the zest and the orange juice, 1 glass of water, season with salt and pepper and cover with the lid.

Put in the oven and bake for about 1 hour until the cuttlefish is tender and the food is left with a nice mellow tomato sauce. Uncover the pot and continue baking for another 5 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Note:

You can replace the cinnamon and the cloves with a few leaves of fresh marjoram finely chopped.