Italian Squid Ink Pasta

By Laurawh77 @travladventurer

This is the face of woman about to eat pasta with squid ink sauce . This is Venetian delicacy and one of the most well known dishes from the area.

In actual fact, it's delicious. Venetians, and Italians in general, are known for their ambitious cuisine. Other cultures might shy away from using a food that is pure black since our bodies are generally built to not eat black foods (they are genetically programmed to believe it to be poisonous), but here in Venice, squid ink is used in sauces and in the pasta itself or even just as a condiment.
The inky, black and metallic tasting ingredient comes from the squid's bladder. In commercial fish markets the squid is generally squeezed and processed so hard that it looses this precious goodness but in Venice the fish is fresh and the tiny ink sack that is inside the squid is intact and used in the preparation of the squid ink pasta. The squid ink is mixed with tomato sauce with white wine and the entire red sauce slowly darkens to a thick black slurry. The squid is chopped up and added to the sauce and then pored over your chosen pasta, usually fettuccine or spaghetti. It doesn't look the greatest but it is indeed unique and surprisingly delicious!
Dare to try it yourself? let me know if you've tried this unique dish and what you thought of it?