Bavette calamari

• By Anthony Diacono

This is perfect with a nice bottle of full-bodied red wine.

For 6 people, you will need:

Six medium-sized squid (cleaned and cut into strips), garlic (chopped), four anchovy fillets (mashed), chilli pepper, olive oil two glasses of dry white wine, a tablespoonful of sun-dried tomato paste, some cherry tomatoes, a tablespoonful of sugar, parsley (to garnish), salt and pepper, 600g of bavette pasta.

Heat two tablespoonfuls of olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan, and fry the garlic and chilli pepper until the garlic is just beginning to change colour. Put in the mashed anchovy, leave it for a couple of seconds, then add the tomato paste. Mix it all together and put the squid into the pan. Cook this for a further 10 minutes, add the wine, bring it to the boil, and turn down the heat. Leave it to simmer until the wine is reduced. Now put in the cherry tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper, cover the pan and leave it to cook over a low flame for another 20 minutes or so, until the squid is tender. Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente (at least a minute less than stipulated on the box). When straining, keep aside some of the water. Return the strained pasta to the pan and, over a high heat, put in the sauce, and some of the water from the pasta pot, if this is required to loosen it up. Stir it well and serve it in a warmed serving-bowl, with generous amounts of chopped parsley and freshly ground pepper.