TABELIAAUTHENTIC RECIPE
Spaghetti al Nero di SeppiaSpaghetti with Cuttlefish Ink
Pasta dyed jet black with cuttlefish ink. A seafood dish loved in both Sicily and Venice, bringing the cuttlefish's rich savor to the fore.
AUTHENTICITY SCORE
Authenticity Score
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Ingredients (2 servings)
- Spaghetti200 g
- Fresh cuttlefishRemove the ink sac without breaking it.400 g
- Cuttlefish ink4 sacs
- Dry white wine100 ml
- GarlicFinely chopped2 cloves
- Extra virgin olive oil60 ml
- Flat-leaf parsleyFinely chopped1 bunch
Method
Clean the cuttlefish and chop herbs
- 1 Clean the cuttlefish and gently remove the ink sac.
- 2 Cut the body into rings and the tentacles into bite-sized pieces.
- 3 Finely chop the parsley.
- 4 Finely chop the garlic.
Sauté cuttlefish and reduce wine
- 1 Put 60 ml olive oil and chopped garlic in a frying pan over low heat; once fragrant, add cuttlefish and sauté over medium heat.
- 2 When cooked and white, add 100 ml white wine and cook off the alcohol for about 2 minutes.
Reduce the ink sauce
- 1 MeanwhileWhile reducing the sauce, start bringing a large pot of water to a boil, with 10 g salt per 1 L.
- 2 Add the ink and 100 ml water and reduce for 5–7 minutes.
Ready when
Continue when everything is black and the sauce has thickened.
Boil and sauce the spaghetti
- 1 Add spaghetti to the prepared boiling salted water and cook al dente, 1 minute less than the package time.
- 2 Reserve 50 ml cooking water.
- 3 Add to the sauce and toss over high heat for 1–2 minutes, adjusting consistency with cooking water.
- 4 Scatter with chopped parsley.
About this dish
Jet-black pasta at the table invariably widens the eyes of anyone seeing it for the first time. Spaghetti al nero di seppia emerged where the sea cultures of Sicily and Venice meet, connecting the Mediterranean with northern Italy.
Ink is a defensive secretion, but in cooking it provides a distinctive marine savor and saltiness. In Sicily's Trapani and Catania, the traditional approach extracts ink from fresh cuttlefish and immediately makes the sauce. Venice too has long eaten seppie al nero, with Adriatic and Mediterranean cuttlefish cultures developing independently.
White cuttlefish flesh against black sauce provides another characteristic visual contrast, and the freshness of the cuttlefish directly affects the flavor.
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