Since it’s almost Halloween and I was thinking of a recipe that would inspire and give an idea for my mommy friends. I decided on Spaghetti Negra. As black as the night and your teeth when you eat it. Hahahaha.

I am a fan of our Cavite squid ink pancit also called pansit pusit or pancit negra, or pancit choko en su tinta. It is the pride of Cavite. I wanted to try the original Pancit Pusit recipe and just replace pancit with spaghetti but it has vinegar and I was not sure if its going to be okay or I would like the combination.

I checked online and most recipes seem to use either white wine or a  bit of lemon so I’m sure there’s also a bit of tang. Mario Batali’s black spaghetti recipe is interesting (because of the Jalapeno Pesto) but I dont wanna play around with replacement for Jalapeno peppers today.

So I settled with a really simple recipe from Rustan’s Easy as a Pie. I adapted the recipe to use frozen seafood instead and removing some ingredients that my family does not like.

Seafood Pasta ala Negra

Ingredients:

500g Gourmet to Go black ink pasta (available in Rustans Supermarket) (or 500g cooked pasta tossed in cooked squid ink)
4 tablespoons Magnolia Gold Butter
8 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pack frozen seafood
500 gms fresh squid (ask the friendly vendor if they can give you extra squid ink sacs, the more you have the better)
Salt
Pepper
1 cup crab paste (aligue)
½ can Magnolia All-Purpose Cream
Lemon
Cheese

Procedure:

1. If you can, have the vendor clean and prepare the squid for you. They’re experts and can remove the inc sacs without breaking them. If you cant. begin by cleaning your squid. Be very careful and separate the heads with their tentacles, then remove the guts, setting aside the ink sacs (AGAIN: be careful not to break them). Wash the squid well under cold water, dice the bodies, and chop the tentacles. Open the ink sacs and collect the ink in a small bowl.
2. Cook fresh pasta in boiling salted water for about 10 minutes until it reaches desired doneness. Set aside.
3. Sauté half of the minced garlic in 2 tablespoons butter over low heat until soft, about 1 minute. Saute frozen seafood and squid, just until translucent, about 1 minute. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Do not overcook seafood as it will become tough and rubbery. Remove from pan.
3. Sauté remaining minced garlic in 2 tablespoons butter over low heat until soft, about 1 minute. Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes. Add squid ink and crab paste and simmer for 1 minute.
4. Remove sauce from heat. Squeeze juice of half a lemon. Season with salt and pepper. Add the spaghetti and mix.
5. Assemble your pasta, top with sauteed seafood, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Smile!

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