Cuttlefish buridda
Cuttlefish buridda is also known as cuttlefish with peas and potatoes. In Genoese cuisine, the word ‘buridda’ identifies more of a way of cooking and in fact, in addition to cuttlefish buridda, there is also fish buridda, stockfish buridda, etc., depending on what is used as an ingredient. It is a stew, and in addition to the fish cut into chunks, vegetables and other produce can be added. It can be enjoyed either hot or warm, always accompanied by slices of toasted bread. In Genoese dialect, ‘buridda’ has also taken on a figurative meaning to indicate mixture and confusion, but without the negative meaning of chaos.
Read more
Our version does not include tomato, however, even if you want to add tomato because you like it, just put one spoonful in the sauce. Other ingredients that can be used as desired in the buridda are salted anchovies to be added in the fry, an onion, pine nuts, dried mushrooms, artichokes, olives and Swiss chard. However, we prefer to keep the recipe simple with just cuttlefish, potatoes and peas.
To clean the cuttlefish you have to be careful when removing the sac containing the ‘squid ink’. So use latex gloves to avoid getting dirty, because then when it stains it is very difficult to wash. First feel the belly to locate the bone and make a vertical cut: spread it out with two fingers, extract the bone and the ink sac. Then remove the innards, skin, eyes and the tooth in the centre from the tentacles. Once you have removed the ink sac, you can also handle the cuttlefish with your bare hands: wet your hands with salt to make it easier to grip the skin.
Cuttlefish buridda
INGREDIENTS FOR CUTTLEFISH BURIDDA
HOW TO MAKE CUTTLEFISH BURIDDA
-
Clean the cuttlefish and cut them into strips about 2 cm thick, leave the tentacles whole if they are not too long. Meanwhile, sauté two cloves of garlic and the parsley. Add the cuttlefish, fry for five minutes, then deglaze with white wine. Add the potatoes, cut into cubes. Season and adjust with water if too dry and cover for 20 minutes. If you use frozen peas, cook them separately first 10 minutes with oil and garlic: when they are cooked enough, season with salt and then add to the buridda to finish cooking for the last five minutes. Same thing if you use canned ones. If they are fresh peas, add them together with the potatoes before salting the buridda.
