Black Squid Ink Pasta
Black squid ink pasta is every seafood lovers dream. This specialty pasta, infused with squid ink has a subtle yet sharp sea flavor. We’ve paired it with sweet, tender lobster pieces and fire roasted tomatoes simmered in a creamy, wine sauce.
What we love about this squid ink pasta
- This elegant pasta dish is a real show stopper. It’s sure to impress guests and is perfect for a date night at home.
- This lobster pasta sauce works great with really any pasta, but the black squid ink pasta really adds to the depth of flavor. Plus it’s stunning.
- The recipe is vaguely based on a pasta dish I had years ago in Nashville, but can’t for the life of me remember the restaurant, just the squid ink spaghetti that we had.
Here’s what you’ll need to make it
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- Black squid ink pasta – Depending on where you live, this specialty pasta might be difficult to find. It’s always available online, but you could also make this sauce and serve it was regular pasta.
- Lobster tails – We used 2 4-ounce lobster tails. You could also use pre-cooked or leftover lobster if you have it.
- Fire roasted tomatoes – I love the extra complexity fire roasted tomatoes add to the recipe, but you can also use a regular can of diced tomatoes.
- White wine – You will want to use a dry white wine for this recipe, preferably something that is good enough to drink. No cooking wine. If you don’t want to use alcohol, feel free to substitute seafood stock or clam juice.
- Heavy cream
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
How to make black squid ink pasta
Cook the lobster. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Split the shells lengthwise and press them open to expose the meat.
Add the lobster tails and cook until the shells are red and the meat is opaque. Remove them from the water and set them to cool. Don’t drain the water. Keep it warm to use it to boil the pasta.
When they’re cool enough to handle, remove the meat and chop it roughly.
Make the sauce. Heat up a large skillet to medium. Melt some butter and use it to sauté the garlic until fragrant. Then, stir in the cream, wine and tomatoes. Add lobster meat and bring it to a simmer.
Let the lobster infuse the sauce. The sauce will go from a creamy pink to a golden orange after about 10 minutes or so – it can simmer for longer if you need extra time to cook the pasta.
Cook the pasta. Bring the reserved lobster water back to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions for al denté. Before draining, reserve ½ cup pasta water.
Toss it together. Transfer the pasta into sauce, and stir to coat pasta in sauce. Add pasta water to sauce if needed. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley before serving.
Everything you need to know about squid ink pasta
It does not, the ink is infused into the pasta before cooking and it stays in the pasta. No need to worry about looking silly on date night.
When pasta is infused with squid ink it takes on additional flavor. The ink adds a slightly salty sea brine taste, which when served with other seafood can elevate the flavor quite a bit.
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Black Squid Ink Pasta
Black squid ink pasta is every seafood lovers dream. This specialty pasta, infused with squid ink has a subtle yet sharp sea flavor. We’ve paired it with sweet, tender lobster pieces and fire roasted tomatoes simmered in a creamy, wine sauce.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Novelty
- Method: Stovetop
Ingredients
- 2 lobster tails, meat removed and chopped
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup fire-roasted diced tomatoes with juice
- Parsley, chopped for garnish
- Pasta water, reserved
- 1/2 pound pasta, cooked and drained
Instructions
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Boil lobster tails until shells are red and meat is opaque. Remove from water and allow the lobster to cool, reserving water to cook pasta.
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When they have cooled, remove the lobster meat from shells and chop.
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In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant.
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Add the cream, wine and tomatoes. Stir until smooth and add lobster meat. Simmer until sauce turns a golden orange color, about 10 minutes.
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Cook pasta according to the package directions for al dente. Before draining, reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta water.
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Toss cooked pasta with sauce and slowly add pasta water, if needed.
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Garnish with parsley.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 407
- Sugar: 2.5 g
- Sodium: 317.1 mg
- Fat: 15.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 9.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 44.4 g
- Fiber: 2.4 g
- Protein: 18.8 g
- Cholesterol: 121.7 mg
