It was just one of those things that I've always wanted to try to make, so when I saw some whole squids at the fishmonger, I declined the offer to have it cleaned so that I can harvest the ink myself and make some squid ink pasta.
Growing up, I would bear witness to all the cleaning of fish and seafood in our kitchen, so I didn't need to google how to extract the ink. You need to gently pull the tentacles away from the body and above the eyes, there is a little sac that looks somewhat silver-ish... That's where it is. (see photo below - that little sack dangling in front of my pinkie).
I had 500grams of squid in total and about 6 small squids. With the patience that I didn't I know I had I managed to get maybe a teaspoon's worth of ink. Or less!
After that, I cleaned the casings, scraped leftover skins, removed the backbone and chopped them into rings. I used squeezed half a kiwi over them to tenderize the meat - believe me it works! (my mom can perfectly cook squids without making them rubbery at all - I on the other hand need a bit of a cook's trick to pull this off, heheh).
For the pasta, I used 300 grams of type 00 flour, 3 small eggs, a good glug of olive oil and the ink, mixed and kneaded into a ball, wrapped in cling film and left in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before rolling it.
The pasta was cooked in boiling water for around 3 minutes or until they rise to the top, then drained.
I minced 3 cloves of garlic, half a red onion, 1 green chili. A hot pan, evoo, and a couple of seconds for the garlic to turn golden brown (not burnt!) ensures a deeper taste. The onions and chili went in next, then squids for just a minute or until they turn the translucency disappears, then the drained pasta tossed into the mix.
This was served with cavollo cheese shaved generously on top, finished with cracked black pepper.
Our brains think that food which is black or grayish is not very appetizing! But give it a go, and see how good it can be!
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