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You are here: Home / Recipes / Pasta & rice / Black squid ink pasta with chorizo & basil and a Foodies Larder hamper

Black squid ink pasta with chorizo & basil and a Foodies Larder hamper

by Jeanne Horak on June 13, 2013 15 Comments in Pasta & rice

SquidInkPastaTitle © J Horak-Druiff 2013

We’re funny creatures, human beings. We eat our sleekly packaged organic granola for breakfast;  we spend our days at our computers talking on the Interwebs to invisible folks on the other side of the world; we fill our free time with all sorts of self-actualising activities like yoga or going to classical concerts.  We imagine ourselves to be civilised and refined, and about as far down the evolutionary continuum from our prehistoric ancestors as it is possible to get.  But ultimately we still inhabit a physical body that is governed not so much by our big, logical cerebrum, but by our lizard brain – the bit of our brain that still remains pretty much structurally identical to the brains that evolved in reptiles millions of years ago.And we are still programmed to react to things in very much in the same way as  our cave-dwelling, woolly mammoth-hunting ancestors, regardless of how much of a veneer of change and refinement our daily lives have required. We are still programmed to crave sugar and fat – things which our ancestors found hard to obtain and gorged on when they could so as to save up for lean nutritional times in the future. Even if you’ve never suffered a single day’s nutritional deprivation in your life, the pull that sugar and fat exert on your lizard brain remains as strong as ever (which is how McDonalds makes their money!).  Eating black things, on the other hand,  has always been a bit a taboo.  Black is the colour of decay and spoilage – two things which might have made our ancestors seriously ill in the days before the NHS and antibiotics. But these days you can barely move for the profusion of fashionable black foods  that we are bombarded with.  Black wild rice.  Black Beluga lentils.  Caviar.  Black beans.   The list goes on, all subtly tinged with the exotic. It seems that black is, well, the new black.

 

SquidInkPasta © J Horak-Druiff 2013

 

When I visited Portugal a couple of summers ago, we had lunch in a seafood restaurant on a tiny beach near Lisbon.  To choose your meal, you did not so much look at the menu as peer into the chest freezer to see the size of the fish on ice.  All the fish were served whole, so if there were only two of you, something the size of a salmon was out of the question.  If you chose a big fish, then the price was for two people.  If you chose something small like squid (as we did) the price was per fish.  Having made our selection, we were asked in semi-comprehensible English whether we wanted the squid with or without.  Umm – with or without what? It transpired that the question was whether we wanted to have the squid with or without ink and I had to admit that it had never occurred to me to eat a squid with its ink.  The Portuguese man next to us, however, ordered his with ink and ate with gusto, leaving his plate looking like a kind of pescatarian Rorschach inkblot diagram.

 

SquidInPastaChorizo © J Horak-Druiff 2013

 

Although there isn’t a huge tradition of eating squid ink in the UK, it is a popular ingredient in Meditrranean countries including Spain, Portugal and Italy where is is sold in jars and sachets to add colour and flavour to foods such as rice and pasta.  The ink is a coloured fluid that can be released into the water by most members of the cephalopod (octopus/squid/cuttlefish) family to obscure them from view while they escape from a threat.  Far from being in any way harmful, it is made up of melanin, the naturally-occurring pigment that is responsible for skin colour (and a tan!) in humans.  The colour varies from species to species, ranging from dark brown through blue-black and pure black – much of the product on sale for culinary use is in fact cuttlefish ink as this has a more subtle and refined flavour. But if you are not entirely sure that you want to go the whole hog and buy a jar of edible ink for your larder, you could also buy some squid ink pasta which will give you the impressively jet black colour with a far milder flavour – squid ink lite, if you like. I was recently sent a hamper of Spanish food to review by the lovely and enthusiastic chaps at the Foodies Larder, who specialise in monthly hampers of fine foods sourced from artisan producers around Spain.  You can choose a monthly subscription (£30 per month), a three (£90) or a six month (£165) pre-pay plan; or even send a hamper as a gift to a friend.  You never know what will be in the hamper beforehand, but you can expect 6 products or so, plus a leaflet telling you a little more about each product.  In addition, the Foodies Larder website features great recipes making use of hamper items to provide you with some inspiration.  In my hamper I found:

  • a jar of El Monumento paté de castanas con gambas (chestnut and shrimp paté)
  • a bottle of La Chinata Palomino sherry vinegar
  • Sandro Desii black squid ink fideua pasta
  • La Chinata olive leaf, orange, hibiscus & lemongrass infusion
  • Espiga Blanca black olive breadsticks
  • Granxa maruxas de nata (walnut-sized traditional sweet cookies)

 

FoodiesLarderBox © J Horak-Druiff 2013

FoodiesLarderBoxContents3 © J Horak-Druiff 2013

FoodiesLarderContents2 © J Horak-Druiff 2013

FoodiesLarderBoxBakedGoods copy © J Horak-Druiff 2013

 

But the package that caught my eye was the Sandro Desii Fideua tinta de calamar (squid ink pasta).  I nibbled on a couple of the black olive bread sticks (like grissini flecked with black olives, and very moreish) while I did a bit of reading on fideua.  It’s the name of a dish that originated and remains popular in the Valencia region of Spain, and is similar to paella.  But in contrast to paella which uses rice as its base, fideua uses short strands of vermicelli-like pasta which is lightly toasted before boiling.  Traditional fideua recipes are very similar to paella, using seafood, fish stock and  and peas to flavour the noodles, but with the spectacular colour of my black fideua, I thought I’d try something a little more visually dramatic, while still in keeping with the pasta’s Spanish roots.  My version is quick to make, packed with flavour and looks utterly dramatic on the plate – a feast for all your senses and, of course,  your lizard brain.

 DISCLOSURE:  I was sent  a free hamper from The Foodies Larder for review purposes but received no other remuneration to write this post and all opinions are my own.

 

SquidIkPastaFinal © J Horak-Druiff 2013

 

Other bloggers cooking with squid include:

  • Andrew, who made squid and chorizo pasta
  • Alida, who made roasted tomato chilli calamari linguini
  • Jane-Anne, who made calamari salad with broad beans, lemon and crushed Tellicherry pepper

 

 

5.0 from 3 reviews
Black squid ink pasta with chorizo & basil and a Foodies Larder hamper
 
Print
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
20 mins
Total time
30 mins
 
Fideua pasta is a speciality of the Valencia region of southern Spain, cooked in a similar way to paella. Although it is traditionally paired with seafood, here the chorizo adds a deliciously spicy note.
Author: Jeanne Horak-Druiff
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Spanish
Serves: 4 as a starter
Ingredients
  • 250g Black squid ink fideua pasta (or break vermicelli into 2cm long pieces)
  • pinch of chilli flakes
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 700ml vegetable stock
  • 100g chorizo sausage, sliced
  • about 15 ripe baby plum tomatoes
  • a handful of fresh basil leaves
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. In a large dry pan, heat the chilli flakes over medium heat until you can start to smell them. Add the olive oil and garlic, stirring continuously so that the garlic does not burn, then add the pasta and stir well to coat with oil.
  2. Add enough of the stock to cover the pasta and allow to simmer until all the liquid is evaporated, stirring occasionally.
  3. In the meantime, lightly fry the chorizo, halve the tomatoes, and roughly tear the basil leaves.
  4. Once the pasta is done, stir the chorizo, tomatoes and basil into the pasta. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper as desired. Serve immediately in shallow bowls or plates, garnishing with some small basil leaves.
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  1. thelittleloaf says

    June 13, 2013 at 9:40 am

    I love using squid ink in pasta and other dishes – it makes them so dramatic! Chorizo looks like the perfect partner – such lovely colours.

    Reply
  2. Krista says

    June 13, 2013 at 10:01 am

    I didn’t have squid in Portugal, but I did have octopus – octopus that turned the broth bright fuschia. 🙂 They then cooked the rice in it and the whole dish was fantastic. 🙂 I’d love to try the squid with ink – it’s so weird and marvelous. 🙂

    Reply
  3. Bron says

    June 13, 2013 at 10:34 am

    My lizard brain is saying wow! Need some.

    Love the idea of dry frying the chilli flakes at the start, too, will definitely try that.

    Reply
  4. Meeta says

    June 13, 2013 at 12:52 pm

    Black food always makes me step back a step a bit – but then I find there is something very elegant about the way it looks. Maybe I look at the food through my food stylist brain. I am just loving the colors of this dish and my lizard brain wants more!

    Reply
  5. [email protected] says

    June 13, 2013 at 5:55 pm

    i like! Love squid ink pasta and a nice hearty pairing with the chorizo

    Reply
  6. Rosa says

    June 13, 2013 at 6:47 pm

    A beautifil dish! Really elegant and full of wow factor. Although black food should not be appealing, I find that your squid ink pasta look amazing and incredibly mouthwatering.

    cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply
  7. Miguel says

    June 15, 2013 at 10:53 pm

    Black squid ink pasta with chorizo sounds like a winner, love it!

    Reply
  8. Jamie says

    June 17, 2013 at 1:10 pm

    Another great post. And I agree that most people are driven and guided by their lizard brains (some more than others). Although I have often lived in countries that eat pasta, risotto, etc with the ink, I can’t remember if, in fact, I have ever tried it. But it is purported to be delicious by those who have. Now I am so curious to pop out and buy some black ink pasta or rice. And try this wonderful dish!

    Reply
  9. Amy says

    June 19, 2013 at 9:53 am

    I’ve never tried squid ink before — it seems a bit intimidating! Maybe trying out some squid ink pasta would be an easy way in.

    Also, I can cook it with chorizo. Anything that involves chorizo is A-OK by me x

    Reply
  10. Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says

    June 27, 2013 at 8:47 am

    So if I eat enough squid ink can I expect a nice tan? 😉

    Reply
  11. David says

    September 6, 2013 at 7:03 pm

    Squid ink pasta is a really beautiful ingredient, and I was also surprised by it’s delicious, but subtle salinity. I put together a recipe using it for a client here in Canada:

    http://www.qualifirst.com/en/blog/squid-ink-pasta

    I’ll have to try out your recipe for fideua while our season for plum tomatoes and fresh basil lasts. Thanks.

    Reply
  12. Erica says

    April 2, 2017 at 11:58 pm

    Extremely tasty. Best squid ink pasta recipe I’ve found. I used ground chorizo because that is all my store had, but it still turned out great.

    Reply
  13. Mirthe Janowski says

    March 4, 2019 at 10:22 am

    I have to say I admire the fact that you go all around the world, trying out new recipes, try to find new stuff. In this article, you talked about the Black squid ink pasta with chorizo & basil. I think I would hesitate a bit because I’m a bit picky when it comes to food and I think we all have to agree with the fact that it looks really strange. After reading the ingredients and the instructions, it actually seems nice. I’m already a pasta fanatic anyway so why wouldn’t I try it.

    I think it’s good that you use so many herbs. I hate food that tastes weak, but with the chili in the beginning, I’m sure it won’t be weakly flavored. In my opinion, it’s important that the product is healthy, that’s why it’s good that no superfluous fat is used and the recipe contains a lot of vegetables.

    I will definitely try this one out and I’m very curious to the final result. I will use the same herbs and vegetables and I hope it tastes better than it looks.

    Reply
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Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

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