Fresh Pasta with Tomatoes & Calamari
Submitted by jenwilly
Homemade squid ink pasta tossed with fried calamari, roasted Roma tomatoes, and a Parmesan-Romano cream sauce. A striking black pasta dish made from scratch with semolina flour.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
40 minREADY
60 minThis dish is pure drama on a plate. Jet-black pasta made with squid ink and semolina flour, tossed in a rich Parmesan-Romano cream sauce, then topped with fried calamari and roasted Roma tomatoes. The contrast of black noodles, white cream, and red tomatoes is stunning.
Making the pasta from scratch is where the magic starts. Squid ink gets beaten into the eggs before mixing with semolina, tinting the dough a dramatic deep black. The dough needs a 30-minute rest in the fridge so the gluten relaxes and rolls smoothly through the pasta machine. Fresh pasta cooks in just 3 minutes, so have your sauce ready before the noodles hit the water.
The cream sauce is straightforward but rich. Heavy cream gets reduced by half over high heat until thick, then grated Parmesan and Romano melt in to create a velvety, sharp cheese sauce that clings to every strand. Fried calamari tossed in at the end stays crisp for the first few bites before softening into the warm pasta.
Kitchen Tips
- Work the semolina into the eggs gradually from the inside of the well outward. Rushing creates dry pockets.
- Toss cut pasta in flour immediately or the strands will stick together into a solid mass.
- Reduce the cream until it coats the back of a spoon. Too thin and it slides off the pasta; too thick and it clumps.
- Add the fried calamari at the very end and serve immediately. Sitting in hot sauce turns crispy calamari rubbery.
Variations
- Use store-bought squid ink pasta if making fresh pasta isn’t an option.
- Swap the cream sauce for a light garlic-olive oil sauce for a less rich version.
- Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the cream sauce for gentle heat.
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the semolina and salt together.
On a large work surface, form a mound with the semolina and create a well in the center of the mound.
In a small bowl, beat the eggs, squid ink and oil together until smooth.
Pour this mixture into the well.
Working from the inside of the well out, gradually work the semolina into the eggs, until all the flour is worked in.
Wrap with plastic and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 30 to 40 minutes.
Remove from the refrigerator and temper for 5 minutes.
Flour a surface and turn the dough out onto it.
Roll out the dough to ½ of an inch thick.
Cut the dough out into thirds.
Using a pasta machine, wide cutters, carefully work one piece of the pasta dough through the pasta machine.
Lightly toss the cut pasta in flour to prevent from sticking.
Pass the remaining pieces of pasta through the machine.
Bring a pot of salt water to a boil.
In a hot sauté pan, add the cream.
Over high heat, reduce the cream by half, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the grated cheeses and season with salt and pepper.
Continue to simmer the sauce until it coats the back of a spoon, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove from the heat and set aside.
Drop the pasta in the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes, or until the pasta is tender.
Drain the pasta and turn into the cream sauce.
Turn the pasta/cream mixture into a mixing bowl.
Add the tomatoes, green onions, and fried calamari.
Toss to incorporate all the ingredients.
To assemble, divide the pasta between four bowls.
Garnish with chopped parsley and grated cheese.
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