The pasta with cuttlefish ink seems to have a double origin: Sicilian and Venetian; today it is a widespread preparation in all coastal areas.
It has humble origins, linked to the fishermen’s need not to waste anything from the cuttlefish, including u niviru, that is its ink.
In Sicily, you will have the opportunity to taste it in every coastal province of the region.
Two versions
• sauce with cuttlefish ink with tomato [tomato sauce and paste];
• sauce with cuttlefish ink without tomato.
I prepare my sauce with cuttlefish ink by adding a couple of tablespoons of tomato sauce freshly and without paste to make it more digestible and lighter.
To complete it with a sprinkle of muddica atturrata [toasted breadcrumbs].
I add some whole wheat breadcrumbs.
As for the pasta, our favorite shapes are:
• whole wheat square spaghetti;
• spaghetti No. 5;
• bucatini.
The pasta with cuttlefish ink accompanied by the same cuttlefish, including minne e ova [breast and eggs] becomes a single dish as it concentrates the characteristics that distinguish a balanced meal in a single course.
About cuttlefish
In our dietary scheme, cuttlefish is among the foods indicated with two asterisks, meaning ** to be consumed occasionally.
In fact, despite being a mollusk with lean meat, it is a source of cholesterol whose intake should be limited.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 5.64 oz spaghetti No. 5
- 2 cuttlefish (including ink sacs or bladders)
- 1 pinch garlic powder
- 1 shot white wine
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch mixed peppercorns (with grinder)
- 2 tbps tomato sauce (homemade)
- 1 drizzle extra virgin olive oil (raw)
- as needed parsley (chopped)
- 2 tbsp whole wheat breadcrumbs (optional)
Preparation
First, you need to clean and empty the cuttlefish:
• Wash the cuttlefish under running water and dry them with a sheet of kitchen paper;
• With your hands, twist and detach the tentacles and innards taking care not to break the ink sac then set it aside;
• Separate the tentacles from the innards and remove eyes and beak;
• With a small sharp knife, make an incision on the inner membrane of the cuttlefish’s body to easily extract the bone;
• Skin the cuttlefish.Also set aside minne e ova [breast and eggs].
Wash the gutted and emptied cuttlefish under running water.
Cut the cuttlefish body and tentacles into pieces.In a hot pan, brown a sprinkle of garlic powder.
Deglaze with a shot of white wine.
Pour the cuttlefish pieces, including minne e ova [breast and eggs] into the pan, mix and brown over high heat.
Add the salt and grind the pepper.
Cook with a lid on low heat for 2-3 minutes.Add a couple of tablespoons of tomato sauce [it should not cover the cuttlefish ink flavor].
Add the ink sacs [bladders of ink] and break them, then blend.
Continue cooking on low heat for 2-3 minutes.
Cook the pasta, rinse it under running water, and drain it.
Meanwhile, heat the sauce with cuttlefish ink.
Pour the pasta into the pan with the sauce and blend.
With the heat off, add a drizzle of raw oil and blend.Plate.
Grind some more pepper and add the parsley.
Distribute the toasted whole wheat breadcrumbs [optional].Your pasta with cuttlefish ink is ready.
Enjoy your meal!
If for any reason you have leftover ink sacs or bladders and want to preserve them, try my mom’s method: the cuttlefish ink extracted from the sac or bladder at the time of cleaning the cuttlefish is added to the tomato sauce and perfectly preserved in the freezer without changing consistency:
• freezing cuttlefish ink in tomato sauce.
Notes
Hyperglycemia, prediabetes and diabetes.
Here you will find dedicated recipes.
Remember:
• start the meal with a generous portion of vegetables [raw or cooked];
• a balanced meal must contain all the nutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, fats & fibers;
• always prepare it respecting the proportions and combinations indicated in your dietary plan.
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