A while back we went to what turned out to be a rather fancy dinner party. Our friends Randy and Lauren were in town, visiting from Australia. They were staying at a friend’s house, and the friends – Metaxia and Kostas – very kindly offered to have us over for dinner so that we could see Randy and Lauren before they headed back down under.
So it was really just old friends getting together. But the table was set with a gorgeous starched white table cloth, silver and flowers. You know: fancy dinner party style.
But once we sat down, and Metaxia brought out the main dish, things took a decidedly un-fancy turn. As she served up inky black strands of unwieldy spaghetti al nero di seppia, I had two thoughts:
- Thank god I’d decided to wear my black cashmere sweater rather than my new ivory one.
- How in the world was I going to stop the slippery, inky pasta from whipping itself off my fork and onto the pristine table cloth?
I mean, really, spaghetti is hard enough to wrangle even with a bland-colored sauce like carbonara. But add the blackest dish Italy has to offer and there seemed to be no way I wasn’t going to embarrass myself.
At which point Metaxia took her already inky fork, tapped it against her wine goblet three times to get our attention and proceeded to run the inky tines right across the center of the tablecloth.
“Don’t worry! Eat, make a mess, use your napkins….it all comes out in the wash!” Well, since she was not only doing the cooking, but also the washing up, I was just going to have to take her word for it.
A bit becalmed, I dug in to what was by far the best spaghetti al nero di seppia that I’ve ever had. Although I’d ordered it in many a restauraunt, it was never one of my favorites. Always anonymously fishy, but often not much more than that, I couldn’t understand the appeal.
But this home-made dish of black was something completely different. Yes, still fishy, but with much more depth. It somehow combined an earthiness that I’d never tasted from a fish, with such a strong taste of the sea that I was shocked.
Although the recipe takes some effort (starting out a few days in advance by pre-ordering fresh ink-filled squid with their sacs at the local fish monger) I’m all set to try it out.
But I’m still not sure if I have Metaxia’s courage to lay out my best white tablecloth.
Spaghetti con Nero di Seppia
(directly from Metaxia, and in her words)
I go to the fish market and I get about 750 grams of squid. I ask them to clean them (by getting rid of the bone) but to put aside the sack with the ink.
The sack with the ink should have attached to it, 2 white almond shaped sacks which contain the milk of the squid.
The eggs can be found at the ends of these 2 milk sacks.
I separate the milk sacks and the eggs from the sacks that contain the ink. I put the ink on the side, because it will be added 10 – 15 minutes before the end of cooking.
I cut the milk sacks, which have a stringy texture, but when they are cooked they are sweet and full of sea flavour.
For 4 – 5 servings
About 500 g of squid cut into small pieces
1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves sliced
1 peperoncino crushed
1/3 cup dry white wine
4 tomatoes without the skin and seeds puree (pomodori pelati)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
500 grams spaghetti
Heat olive oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet until hot but not smoking.
Saute garlic and peperoncino, stirring, until fragrant (gold) about 30 seconds.
I discard the garlic pieses or I leave in a couple of pieces.
Add squid pieces and saute, stirring one minute.
Add the wine and let simmer for two minutes (stirring)
Introduce the milk and the eggs of the squid in to the pan.
Cover and let simmer until squid is tender.
Remove pan from heat.
In a small bowl (wear gloves!!):
Squeeze the ink out of the bags.
Add two tablespoons water and stir the mixture.
Add this mixture to the pan while stirring (let the pan cool before adding the mixture because it may solidify).
Add the puree tomatoes, cover, and simmer for another 10-15mins.
Add the parsley a few minutes before the end of cooking.
When the pasta is cooked and drained keep 1/3 cup of water just in case the squid sauce is dry.
Add the pasta to the pan and stir.
Serve.
Enjoy!
I don’t know if I’ll ever try this recipe, but it sure comes out gorgeous. I had the squid ink ravioli at Felidia and it was amazing. I do love a good squid.
I’ve seen packets of the ink frozen around Seattle. Thought it might be interesting to do, but always had concerns with the mess. Glad to hear that part of things is no big deal. Might just try it some time, at your recommendation.
I am 100% sure that this particular recipe works so well and tastes so delicious thanks to using fresh ink sacs and egg sacs. Hard to find, I know, but you should be able to in Seattle. Let me know.
This is the perfect ‘al fresco’ meal. If disaster strikes, there is always the garden hose! With that said, I actually prefer squid ink pasta — one gets the flavor of the squid ink, but it is not as overwhelming.
I saw this post earlier in the week and have not been able to get that photograph of the fork marks out of my mind. I don’t know if I’ll ever try this, but I love knowing this recipe exists.
Thank you! I wish I had had my real camera with me. These are actually all done with my iPhone, and so not nearly as sharp as I would have liked. But they do make an impression!
so just curious as to what squid ink tastes like? can any one give a comparison? not sure that i will ever try it.. but one never knows
Ciao
Sherrie
Fishy, for sure, but also with a rich earthiness – almost muskiness – that you don’t get in any other sea creature.
I am a friend of Metaxia, just bumped into this. She also makes the best spaghetti alle vongole in town…
Alberto
Maybe we’ll get invited for that one day too!
If used during bottle ink how much should I use?
Do you mean if you use a bottle of squid ink? I’m not sure, since this recipe calls for real ink sacks. I know they are difficult to find, but they really do have a completely different taste.
Una ricetta favolosa !! Ho già fatto questa pasta al nero di seppia tre volte !!!
tried to print this recipe, but only got unreadable pages of ..what I don’t know. am I the only one to run into this problem?
I’m sorry you’re having trouble printing the recipe. It sounds like trouble at your end. You should try to copy and paste the text of the recipe (not the images) onto another document (like word or pages) and then try printing.
What a gorgeous and funny dish to eat… I mean who doesn`t want to have a black tongue after a dish and messing up the whole table clothes :D? Saddly I have to try it with jarred squid ink, because finding it fresh would be tricky for me. But I think that isn`t a problem. What I have readed is that the jarred ink is more fishy in taste, thats all and for me as an anchovies lover, strong fishy tastes aren`t a problem. Further they are really welcome! One question… for that dish would you use a thin Spaghetti like Vermicelli or a thicker?
Just regular spaghetti, or even linguine.
If the squid is fresh does it need a lot of cooking time to become tender?
Yes. Squid is funny: you either cook it very briefly – like 90 seconds – or else much longer. In between and it just turns rubbery. Fresh or frozen.
Hello,
I was given as a gift from Italy a jar of 180 grams of Nero di Seppia (Squid Ink). All of the recipes I found online say to squeeze the ink out of the fresh squid’s pocket?!?! I have the ink but don’t know how much to put in with one pack (500 grams) of pasta. I cannot find a recipe that suggests how much of the ink to use per 100 grams of pasta. Do I use a few table spoons/100 grams of pasta – Is that too little? Too much? Can someone give me some guidance as to how much to use? Thank you very much for your assistance.
Linda
That pack should be fine for 500 grams (a package) of pasta.
I used a whole jar of squid ink and 2 packs of Seafood Blend to a pack (500 G) Nero Pasta. YUMM ! Thanks for the process Elizabeth!
What is seafood blend?