Squid ink pasta with mussels, calamari crackling and mozzarella purée
Item 1 of 1
- medium
- 4
- 60 minutes
In this stunning starter by Rosanna Marziale, squid ink is used throughout the cooking process to create a dramatic, black hue. Squid ink pasta is available from Italian delis, or you can make it from scratch by simply adding four teaspoons of squid ink to the egg and flour mixture when forming a basic pasta dough.
First published in 2015
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Calamari crackling
- 225g of squid tubes and tentacles
- 260g of tapioca flour
- canola oil, for deep frying
- 5g of squid ink
Mussels with squid ink tagliatelle
- 320g of squid ink pasta, preferably tagliatelle
- 200g of mussels, washed
- 150ml of white wine
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 1/2 lemon
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- black pepper
Mozzarella milk
- 200g of mozzarella cheese
To serve
- cherry tomatoes, oven baked
SAVE RECIPE
Equipment
- Dehydrator
- Cooking thermometer
- Steamer
- Vac-pac bags
- Bar sealer
- Food processor
Method
1
To begin, make the calamari crackling dough. Place the squid tentacles, tubes and ink in a food processor until it reaches a smooth purée. Add the tapioca flour and pulse the mixture until evenly combined
- 225g of squid tubes and tentacles
- 260g of tapioca flour
- 5g of squid ink
2
Divide the dough between two large vacuum bags. Using a rolling pin, spread the dough to the edges of the bags and roll to a uniform thickness of approximately 2mm thick
3
Seal both of the bags and place in a steamer large enough to hold them easily. Gently steam 25 minutes. Carefully open the bags and remove the dough. Lay the sheets on dehydrator trays
4
Dehydrate the sheets for several hours at 65°C until the dough is completely dry and brittle – it will take on a shiny matte appearance and be easily broken into pieces
5
When the dough is dry, remove it from the dehydrator and break the sheet into 4cmx8cm pieces. This recipe makes more calamari crackers then are needed for the dish, but any extra dried crackers may be kept in their dry state in a zip lock bag for several weeks
6
When ready to cook the crackers, heat a deep saucepan of canola oil to 177°C
- canola oil, for deep frying
7
Slide the crackers, two at a time, into the oil. The cracker will sink to the bottom of the oil and then begin to puff and expand. Fry the crackling until it is completely puffed and there are no dark spots of unexpanded cracker dough
8
Remove the puffed cracklings from the oil and drain on a paper towel-lined tray. Sprinkle with salt while still hot from the fryer
9
To make the mozzarella purée, blitz the mozzarella and its water to a thin purée, adding more water if necessary. Set aside in the fridge
- 200g of mozzarella cheese
10
Now cook the mussels. Heat a large pan with a dash of olive oil and sweat the shallots. Add the mussels and white wine and cover with a lid. Leave to steam for 2–3 minutes, or until all of the shells have opened
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 200g of mussels, washed
- 150ml of white wine
- extra virgin olive oil
11
Drain the mussels and reserve their liquid. Remove most of the mussels from the shells, keeping a few in their shells for presentation
12
In a large pan of boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente for approximately 4–5 minutes
- 320g of squid ink pasta, preferably tagliatelle
13
Drain the pasta and add to a large, wide-based pan with the reserved mussel liquid and continue cooking for a further 4 minutes. When the liquid has reduced and the pasta is cooked, stir through the mussels and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice
- 1/2 lemon
- black pepper
- salt
- extra virgin olive oil
14
To serve, dot the mozzarella purée around the plate and make a nest with the pasta. Add the tomatoes and reserved shellfish and serve
- cherry tomatoes, oven baked
First published in 2015
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