By Maria Athanasopoulos

Great Lent has officially begun and many Christians are embarking on a journey of religious and spiritual renewal in preparation for Easter. This period of sacrifice and penance also includes cleansing yourself physically and giving up certain foods and pleasures by fasting. If you plan on adhering to the traditional rules of fasting or simply abstaining from meat for 40 days, you have probably already stocked up on peanut butter and jelly. However, due the severe peanut butter pandemic, you may have switched to its cousin this year, almond butter. Regardless of which nut butter you are choosing to eat, the foods that are fast-friendly or “nistisima” are limited. Naturally, this may leave you feeling flustered and with a gloomy feeling that there’s simply nothing left to eat but bread and vegetables right? WRONG!

If you aren’t already vegan or vegetarian, its true, your daily diet is getting a huge makeover since meat, fish that has blood, dairy and basically anything that comes from an animal is restricted. What you didn’t know is that this is a period to introduce your daily palate to other delicacies made with shellfish such as scallops and lobster or a wide array of pastas and legumes. Octopus, shrimp and calamari are the most popular types of seafood that Greeks eat during lent. I simply love calamari and eat it year round, however I didn’t attempt to try cooking it for years since I always assumed it had to be intricate to prepare and cook at home. A couple years ago I finally mustered up the courage to recreate a family recipe that I enjoyed for years and all I can say is wow, I was definitely missing out since it was so easy to make and so yummy to eat.

The most common way of cooking calamari is by deep frying it, this is also the most popular way it is eaten globally. The thought of fried calamari with a generous squirt of fresh lemon juice sounds mouth watering, however how many times can you eat it like this without getting sick of it or creating some serious damage to your arteries and not to mention waistline?! Personally, I prefer to order it prepared in this fat laden way at restaurants, where I don’t have to worry about creating a disaster in my kitchen or burning myself with the extremely hot oil, which, unfortunately, has happened one too many times!

So after much experimentation, I created an easy yet delightfully healthy and scrumptious calamari recipe that you can make in your kitchen in minutes (literally!).

DID YOU KNOW

That white wine is a mild, natural tranquilizer,which reduces anxiety and tension? It also provides the body with energy, helps aid our digestion and is extremely heart-friendly. So raise a glass!

Calamari Sautéed with Tomato and Orzo

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound cleaned calamari (squid) fresh
• or frozen and cut into rings
• 1 medium can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup white wine of your choice
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 cup orzo
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Dash salt & pepper to taste
• ½ cup feta (optional)
• ½ cup kalamata olives (optional)

Preparation:

1. Pour oil onto a large saucepan and cook on high heat. Once oil get hot, add garlic, ½ of the chopped onion and sauté for 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Next slowly mix in tomatoes and let simmer on low for 10 minutes.
2. In a large saucepan, bring 2 cups water to a boil and add a dash of salt. Add one cup orzo to boiling water and cook over medium high heat. Once it comes to a boil again, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 6 to 8 minutes or until al dente (tender). Remove from heat, drain, rinse and set orzo aside.
3. Slowly stir in calamari, wine, parsley, remaining onion, salt and pepper to your tomato mixture and continue to cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. It is extremely important not to overcook the calamari since it will quickly become rubbery and tough to eat.
4. Spoon orzo into individual plates or bowls and generously pour calamari mixture on top. Garnish with your choice of parsley, kalamata olives and/or feta cheese – if you are not fasting from dairy that is!

Enjoy this lent friendly and mouthwatering meal with a glass of Retsina.

Kali Orexi!