Stuffed Calamari, Sicilian Style

Ingredients

• 0.5 cup basil finely chopped
• 6 cups bread crumbs 
• 56 ounces tomatoes canned crushed
• 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 2 large onions finely chopped
• 0.5 cup parsley italian finely chopped
• 1 cup pecorino grated
• 1 teaspoon pepper 
• 1 cup raisins 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 12 large squid tubes 
• 1 teaspoon sugar 
• 2 tablespoons plus 
• 12  toothpicks 
• 12  toothpicks 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• oven
• baking pan
• toothpicks

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Clean the 12 large squid tubes; remove skin and cartilage inside the squid and rinse and clean. In a large pan saute onions in 2 tablespoons olive oil until soft. In a large bowl, combine the
3. Sauteed onions, 1/2 cup of olive oil, garlic, 1 cup pecorino, 1/2 cup parsley, and the bread crumbs and mix well.
4. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of oil to make the bread crumbs soft.
5. Add the raisins last. Fill the squid tubes with the mixture and secure with a toothpick at the top opening.
6. Lay the tubes in a baking pan with a little oil in the bottom of the pan, and bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from oven and top with tomato sauce.
7. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of pecorino and an additional 1/4 cup of parsley. Put pan back in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted, 10 to 15 minutes.
8. In a large frying pan, mix crushed tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt, pepper and sugar. Cook for 5 minutes and set aside.