Squid ink tagliolini with calamari, bottarga and salmon roe

Bring your homemade pasta to the next level with squid ink. Food Safari Water

• serves

  5

• prep

  1 hour

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 kg large fresh calamari, cleaned
• 60 ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra, to serve   
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped  
• 2-3 long red chillies, finely chopped  
• 125 ml (½ cup) fish stock, approximately  
• 25 g bottarga, finely grated, plus extra to serve  
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon  
• ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped  
• 10 g salmon roe  
• micro watercress, to garnish  

Squid ink tagliolini

• 400 g fine semolina
• 100 g “00” flour
• 50 ml white wine
• 175 ml water (see note)
• 15 g squid ink

Freezing time: 2 hr

Instructions

Cut down one side of the calamari hoods to open up, then scrape out and discard any guts. Stack the cleaned open calamari on a tray and place in the freezer for 2 hours or until frozen. Once frozen solid, using a meat slicer or mandolin, cut the calamari into paper-thin slices. Refrigerate until needed.

Meanwhile, for the pasta, combine the semolina and flour together in a large bowl. Combine the wine, water and squid ink, then add to the dry ingredients and combine energetically until a dough comes together. Shape into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

To roll the pasta, cut the dough into 4 portions and work with one portion at a time, leaving the others wrapped in plastic wrap so they don’t dry out. Using a pasta machine set on the widest setting, feed the dough through several times until smooth, folding it in half before each roll. Continue rolling the dough, reducing the width one setting at a time until you reach the second last setting. Use the cutting attachment to cut the pasta into tagliolini. Alternatively, roll the pasta up, then use a large sharp knife to cut into thin strands. Place on a tray lightly dusted with semolina and repeat with the remaining pasta dough.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the tagliolini and cook for 2 minutes or until al dente. Drain.

While the pasta is cooking, place 2 large frying pans over medium heat. Add half the oil, garlic and chilli to each pan and cook gently until fragrant. Add 60 ml (¼ cup) stock to each pan, then divide the calamari, finely grated bottarga, lemon zest and parsley between the pans. Add a pinch of salt and toss for 1 minute or until just warmed through.

Add half the drained cooked pasta to each pan and toss to combine well. Taste and adjust with more salt, olive oil, lemon zest and fish stock as needed. Serve in warm bowls, then grate a little extra bottarga over the top. Finish with a teaspoon of salmon roe, a little micro cress and a drizzle of olive oil.

Note:

• In the restaurant we make our pasta using a professional pasta extruder which mixes the dough in 10 minutes, then extrudes it into the desired shape. To take into account that most people won’t have a professional extruder at home, I’ve added an extra 50 ml water to the pasta recipe so it is less dry but it’s best to hold a little water back until you know whether the dough needs it.

Photography by Sharyn Cairns. Styling by Lee Blaylock. Food preparation by Rachel Lane. Creative concept by Belinda So. 

Maeve O'Meara is back in Food Safari Water starting 8pm, Wednesday 1 August on SBS and then you can catch-up on all episodes via SBS On Demand. Visit the program page for recipes, videos and more.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.