Gemista Kalamari — Stuffed Squid

Greek Non Fasting Published April 21, 2026

Non-Fasting Recipe: This dish contains meat, dairy, or eggs and is intended for feast days and non-fasting periods.

Fresh squid tubes filled with a rice-based stuffing enriched with feta, tomato, and pine nuts, then
braised slowly in a tomato-wine sauce until tender. Gemista kalamari is Greek coastal cooking at its
most refined — simple ingredients, careful technique, extraordinary results.

FASTING LEVEL: Non-Fasting (feta cheese)

SERVINGS: 4
TIME: 1 hour 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
- 8 medium fresh squid tubes (about 1 kg), cleaned, tentacles reserved
- 150 g short-grain rice, rinsed
- 150 g feta, crumbled
- 50 g pine nuts, toasted
- 50 g currants
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
- 100 ml olive oil
- 1 (400 g) can crushed tomatoes
- 150 ml dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Salt and black pepper
- Toothpicks (for closing squid)

METHOD:
1. Finely chop the squid tentacles.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet. Sauté onion for 5 minutes. Add chopped tentacles and cook 3 minutes.
3. Add garlic, rice, pine nuts, currants, half the parsley, dill, and mint. Stir 1 minute.
4. Add 200 ml water, salt, and pepper. Simmer covered 10 minutes until rice is half-cooked. Cool 5 minutes.
5. Stir in crumbled feta. Taste for salt (feta is salty).
6. Stuff each squid tube about two-thirds full (rice will expand). Close the opening with a toothpick. Do NOT overfill or squid will burst during cooking.
7. Heat remaining olive oil in a wide pan. Arrange stuffed squid in a single layer. Cook 2 minutes per side to lightly colour.
8. Pour in wine, crushed tomatoes, and lemon juice. Bring to a gentle simmer.
9. Cover and simmer on lowest heat for 40-45 minutes until squid is fork-tender. Stir gently once or twice.
10. Uncover and simmer 10 more minutes to reduce sauce if needed.
11. Remove toothpicks. Serve each squid with spoonfuls of the tomato sauce, topped with remaining fresh herbs.

NOTES:
- Fresh squid is essential. Frozen works but is slightly less tender. Ask your fishmonger to clean them for you.
- Squid cooks in one of two ways: fast and hot (under 2 minutes), or slow and low (over 30 minutes). Anything in between is rubbery.
- The rice must be half-cooked before stuffing. Raw rice inside squid will not cook through.
- Excellent served cold the next day, meze-style, with ouzo.

NUTRITION (per 2 squid, approximate):
Calories: 540 | Protein: 38 g | Carbohydrates: 38 g | Fat: 28 g | Fibre: 3 g