The Spooky Pasta With Black Ink Cuttlefish Recipe

This is what the ink sacs look like, and if you are using the fresh ink from a Cuttlefish, you need to be very careful for the risk of stains.

You can buy the Black Ink  or Nero di Seppia on Amazon (affiliate links) or at your fishmonger.

It comes sealed in little bags, and you only need one bag for 500 gr of pasta.

Do be careful when you open the bag though, as the ink stains are difficult to remove from clothes…and hands.

The ingredients you’ll need are:

500 gr of linguini
30 gr of olive oil
1 large onion
500 gr of fresh cuttlefish (or frozen squids if you cannot find it)
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 tbsp of coarse salt to boil the pasta
Salt and pepper

Dice the onion and stir-fry it in an olive oil-coated pan.

In the meantime start boiling the water for the pasta, adding 1 table spoon of coarse salt.

Once the onions become translucent, add the cuttlefish.

If you are using frozen squids, they should have been defrosted in the fridge over night.

Note: Squid and cuttlefish do not need to cook for very long.

As soon as they start to turn opaque white, add a few table spoons of tomato sauce or tomato extract to give some colour.

Before adding the ink, it is best to wear some plastic gloves.

Pierce the ink bag with a pin, making sure the ink does not squirt out of the pan.

Stir for a few seconds, then remove the pan from the heat to make sure the squid doesn’t overcook.

Once the linguini has finished boiling (which should be about now, and always 1 minute less than what is recommended on the box), drain them and toss them into the pan containing the squid mixture.

Stir well, and they are ready to be served.