This recipe is only wonderful if it’s really fresh. You can get powdered ink but it is not as tasty. Seeing that they are in season it’s a good time to try it. I like to add tomato to give the sauce more body but these can be omitted to get a more jet black colour.

The anatomy of the cuttle fish is a bit confusing so it’s best to ask the fishmonger to clean it, remove the cartilage and detach the ink sacs. I like to put the sacs in a little bit of hot water to dissolve and remove from the membrane. The beak and eyes need to be removed and the rest cut into strips. Otherwise it’s pretty straight forward so enjoy!

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

250g Cuttle-fish,                   cleaned and cut in strips with ink sacs detached.

1 tbsp Olive Oil

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1 pinch Chili Flakes

1/2 cup White Wine

3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped    a small tin can be substituted

200g Spaghetti or Linguine

Method:

Heat a pan to medium high. Add oil and saute the cuttlefish for a few minutes. Add garlic and chili and stir for another minute. Add the wine. Keep your face away as this might flame up which can be  impressive to your guest unless you light up your facial hair!

Add tomatoes, lower heat, cover and leave to simmer for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile cook the pasta aldente. Check the cuttlefish and when tender add the ink, stir and simmer another couple of minutes. Toss the pasta with the sugo in the pan and plate