Calamari con piselli, squid with peas, is a classic of Italian cuisine, especially in springtime when the peas are fresh. The dish is also easy and quick to prepare. With the addition of rice or couscous, it makes a piatto unico, that is, a plate that functions as a combined primo piatto and secondo piatto.
You can also stuff a pea and rice mixture inside the bodies of larger calamari and the dish becomes calamari repieni al piselli, or squid stuffed with peas.
In Rome restaurants you might see Seppie con piselli, or cuttlefish with peas which will have more tomato added as well. You might also see the dish prepared with totani, another type of squid sometimes referred to as “flying squid”.