Pasta Negra

A leap of faith, I am joining Presto Pasta Nights, I know that me and my ways in the kitchen are still mediocre at best but I haven't read any rules that a newbie can't join so I am taking the plunge, que sera, sera! This is my second time joining, the first one was ages ago, it was one of those times when my bravery is at its peak *grins*. I, actually, love experimenting on new pasta dishes (I, even, think that I was an Italian in my past life *lol*) but as most of what I concoct doesn't follow a strict recipe, I seldom join any cooking meme, well, as I've said, this is a leap of faith.

This week's Presto Pasta Night round-up will be their 200th, so I'm kinda part of something special and it is hosted at Fuss Free Flavors. So, if you're in search for some great pasta recipes do visit that blog on Friday.



Ingredients:

• spaghetti noodles (any kind of pasta will do)
• fresh small to regular-sized squids
• all-purpose cream
• onion and garlic, diced
• butter
• vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• dried basil leaves

Procedures:

• Clean the squid thoroughly. Put the ink in a clean container, to be used as a coloring for the dish. Be sure to take out the white gooey thing that stick in the ink pouch, it's the source of that fishy smell so you better be careful about it. And remember to use fresh squid, the key to a flavorful dish is its freshness.
  
• Boil the squid until cooked. Set aside.
• Cook the spaghetti noodles according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
• In a large pan, heat up some vegetable oil before dropping in the butter to prevent it from burning.
• Saute the garlic and onion, until the kitchen smells or until the onion is mildly translucent, please don't overdo it.
• Pour in the squid's ink, the amount depends on how dark you want your pasta to look, I didn't used much as my son doesn't like it super black. Saute and mush it thoroughly.
• Add the cooked squid, stir and bring it to a semi-boil.
  
• Add the all-purpose cream (I used one tetra pack of Nestle cream), stir until blended, add a little water and let it simmer.
• Season with salt, pepper and dried basil leaves, taste test and do the necessary tweaking.
  
• Stir it continuously to prevent the sauce from sticking in the pan, add some dissolved flour on cold water to make the sauce thick. The color won't blend well with the noodles if your sauce is watery/soupy. Bring it to its final boil and you're done.
• Toss the noodles in and work on it until the black sauce incorporates with every strands of the spaghetti noodles, your arms might feel a little sore afterwards but the smile on your family/guests will make it all worth it.
• Let it cool for a while before serving.

Happy Wednesday everyone!