Name: Risotto nero (Squid-ink risotto)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon tomato passata; 1 medium white onion, peeled and finely chopped; a small bunch of parsley leaves, chopped; ½ a dried red chilli; 4 tablespoons olive oil; 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) risotto rice; 250 ml (1 cup) white wine; 700 g (1 lb 9 oz) squid with their ink, or about; 1.5 litres (6 cups) fish stock; 50 g (1¾ oz) butter; 10 g (¼ oz) of separate squid ink; 3 garlic cloves, peeled

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Twelve

By Tessa Kiros

Published 2003

About

This is definitely a surprise if you’ve never seen it. A beautiful, interesting and striking black dish which always seems to prompt a few questions. It really does have something special and elegant about it, and those who overcome their nervousness about trying it will understand its secure position. There is a general Italian consensus that cheese is not served with fish or seafood pastas and risottos, but naturally you may decide to serve freshly grated Parmesan cheese.