The Venetian version of risotto al nero di sepia, most dramatic of rice-dishes, is surely the most sophisticated, but the little ink-sacks found in the intestines of all the cephalopods - the family that includes cuttlefish, squid and octapus - are used to colour and flavour rice and pasta right around the coast of Italy.
Originally, it can be supposed, the ink-sacs were a perishable by-product of the fisherman’s catch, though also used as sepia-ink by 19th century writers and artists. Of the two inks (I’ve never tried octopus ink), cuttlefish is more delicate (less metallic) than squid. To my own palate, both have a faint flavour of violets, while neither taste particularly fishy. And yes, I have indeed used sepia-ink to write and draw: inconveniently, however, it starts as a rich brown, but fades quickly - much faster than Indian ink, the usual alternative.
When visiting friends in Calabria last week (see previous post), the beachside restaurant in the coastal town of Amantea dished-up a very black, very plain risotto - ink-only, no fish-flesh - flavoured with a soffrito of finely-chopped onion, a knife-tip of fiery ‘nduja and a pinch of dried oregano. Simple and delicious, once you’ve tracked down your culinary squid-ink (available in pasturised form from good fishmongers, or on the net).
Recipe for Calabrian risotto al nero will be on its way to paid subscribers just as soon as I unpack my luggage and find that twelve euros-worth of ‘nduja packed in a sausage-skin from the grocery store in Amantea - what else would a person bring back from Calabria?
More about the cephalopods of the Mediterranean in Flavours of Andalucia (in print with Grub Street, illustrated with my own watercolours).
I never realized how those multi-purpose cephalopods could be used in the creative process! Ink and recipe ingredients
I have been searching for squid ink for some time but without great success on this side of The Atlantic, in fact with no success at all. I would adore this risotto nero--but also remembering a black rice dish from the rice fields around Valencia. I know you know it, E, but i cannot recall the name. Could it be as simple as arroz negro? And how is it different? Different rice variety to start with?