The king of seafood pasta, squid ink pasta lends a luxurious and umami flavor to a dish. To add to the texture, I like add semola flour and eggs to the dough. This gives it a bit more bite and works great with filled or long pasta.
We refer to it as squid ink, but any cuttlefish ink will do here. Squid ink, or cuttlefish ink, comes in liquid, powder or even little sheets you can add directly to food. I prefer the liquid as the others are more condensed however any option will work.
You may be asking if squid ink is fishy or what it taste like. It does have a fishy smell to it is much more mellow tasting once it is cooked. The taste is like briny sea water with a hint of iron as well as having a umami flavor like that of oyster sauce. I will caution that a little goes a long way! It is best to add less than you think and add more as you mix the dough. If too much is added it will taste fishy and of iron.
Squid Ink Pasta Dough
Description
A fresh egg pasta dough with squid ink and semolina flour.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Prepare the pasta dough
Form the flour into a well or add to a large mixing bowl. Whisk the eggs and squid ink then add to the flour mixture. Knead for around 10 minutes or until the dough is elastic and smooth. The dough will get darker as you knead and after it rests in the fridge.
Eggs are not all created equal and have different weights. Try to aim for 60% hydration for this dough. This means for 200 grams of flour aim for 120 grams of eggs. If your eggs are on the smaller size you can use water to bring it up to the 120 grams. -
Rest the dough
Cover and let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.