tinned squid ink tomato pasta!
entry 8/6/25
I watched too many of those daywithmei tinned fish talk videos and found myself getting one of those Iberia squid in ink cans. The same day, I had it by itself for lunch like a scumbag and I liked the flavor but wanted to stretch it out a little bit. That’s when I found this recipe; each time I made it, I changed some things to suit my personal tastes, to the point where it has mutated into something else entirely. So this is my version. Despite the fact that you can order calamari at TGI Fridays, I find squid to have an inherently luxurious and decadent association, so I make this when I want to #treat myself. This recipe has no exact measurements and was written with vibes so use your mind and heart.
The main deviations: lentil pasta (from my gainiac era) with cornstarch slurry as sauce emulsifier, laoganma in place of red pepper flakes (i ran out of red pepper flakes once for some reason so i used laoganma instead and it was fire), san marzano tomatoes (someone on youtube shorts told me to buy them)
Pairings: white wines, champagnes, light reds
Ingredients:
- cooking olive oil (idk how much i dont measure that)
- half a white onion or one shallot
- as much crushed + chopped garlic as you want
- laoganma spicy chili crisp
- one can of squid in ink
- lentil pasta
- corn starch (i also don’t measure this but you don’t need a lot of it)
- 1/2 a can of san marzano tomatoes
- as much chopped parsley as you want
- half a lemon
Start by filling a pot with water for your pasta. DON’T add any oil or fancy shit to your pasta water because if you to that w lentil pasta it will develop a repulsive fuzzy texture for some reason
Heat up some olive oil in a pan.
While you wait for the water to boil, prep your other ingredients:
- Peel and chop up your garlic and onions
- Combine cornstarch with water in a small cup and mix into a slurry. you may have to mix it again later to avoid settling
- Chop up your parsley
Throw your pasta into the pot
Fry the onions in your olive oil until they sweat.
Add spicy chili crisp and garlic.
Sauté them together for a minute and add your tomatoes.
Once the tomatoes burst slightly, add canned squid and ink. Feel free to stir and add salt to taste.
Your pasta should be done by now; strain it and toss it into the pan with your sauce.
Mix your cornstarch slurry again and pour it slowly into the pan to emulsify the sauce.
Toss your pasta so the sauce covers the noodles completely.
Add parsley, lemon juice, and salt to taste.
It should be done now🔥Enjoy
