Cuttlefish Ink Pasta for a Spooky Halloween Feast

Halloween is one of my favourite times of the year. Truth be told, I’ve never lost that childhood fondness for dressing up and eating all the Halloween sweets. As an adult, I still dress up in my Halloween costume, cook a spooky Halloween themed meal and generally prance about the house acting like a big child.

I like getting creative with Halloween recipes too – every year I made something utterly ridiculous and over the top; something you can only get away with this time of year – like a spooky graveyard cake or a black bread bowl cauldron filled with stew.

Artificial food colourings, however, are not one of my favourite things to work with. I don’t like using them, preferring to opt for natural colourings like spinachor beetroot powders. When it comes to black colouring though, the best thing I’ve found has been cuttlefish ink.

Credit: Wooden Earth Cutlery

Cuttlefish, or squid’s ink, is a dark-coloured ink that cephalopods release into the water as a defense mechanism. When used in small quantities it adds a beautiful, rich, dark hue to cooking, making it perfect for any Halloween feast. It's got a rather neutral flavour too, so you don’t have to worry about your recipe tasting too much like the sea.

However, just picture it, a gorgeous plateful of black seafood linguine laid out before you, fresh mussels in the shell (the colour of the shells pair beautifully with cuttlefish ink pasta, I think), seared king scallops, and perhaps a langoustine on topwith its orange shell, jet-black eyes, legs and antennae. All this seafood is in season just now and available from your local fishmonger. To this, you could perhaps add a few strategically placed squid or octopus tentacles – just so you could do the whole dramatic ‘Release the Kraken!’ thing at the dinner table. If you wanted. Y’know.

In the meantime, here’s a black pasta recipe for you to try at home. The Kraken is optional.

Cuttlefish Ink Pasta Recipe

• 5 large free-range eggs
• 1 tbsp cuttlefish ink
• 500 grams ‘00’ Italian pasta flour
• Semolina flour, for dusting

1. Whisk the eggs in a measuring jug along with the cuttlefish ink until combined.

2. Place the flour in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre.

3. Pour in the black egg mixture and stir with a wooden spoon just until combined.

4. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 3-5 minutes, until the dough is smooth, silky and elastic.

5. Cut the dough in half and form into two flat discs.

6. Wrap each disc in clingfilm and chill for one hour.

7. To roll, dust your work surface with semolina flour.

8. Roll out a disc of pasta as thin as you possibly can with a rolling pin – ideally between 1-2 mm thick. Alternatively, use a pasta machine, running it through the settings from the thickest to thinnest.

9. Cut the rolled-out pasta into your desired shape – pappardelle ribbons are about 2.5 cm wide, while tagliatelle is about 1 cm wide.

10. Store your freshly cut pasta in portion-sized mounds on a baking tray sprinkled with semolina flour. Cover in a slightly damp cloth for up to 2 hours.

11. To cook your fresh pasta, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.

12. Cook the pasta until al dente, about 1-3 minutes, depending on the width.