2 minute read
In Season: Seafood Pasta
spaghetti nero ai frutti di mare
View recipe on page 74 »
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In Season
by kate bernot
April is a promise.
The cold winter winds begin to whisper that spring will come if we are patient. We wait as the ground still is covered in snow, the earth hard and dormant, and so we look to the richness of the sea. From the bounty of the ocean come the indulgent flavors that help us stave off late winter blues: lobster, clams, uni. Rich enough to satisfy but light enough to turn our palates toward spring, seafood pastas become our most elegant comfort food.
What better way to show off what the fish market has offered fresh that day—plump, bursting blue prawns or pristine, tender squid— than against a jet black backdrop of squid ink pasta.
Its deep, uniformly dark ribbons present seafood as the star of the plate. And because the ink is nearly flavorless, it won’t distract from the Italian ingredients that we return to again and again: fragrant garlic, fresh chopped parsley, salty anchovies and tangy San Marzano tomatoes.
Visually stunning but willing to play a supporting role, squid ink pasta has long been a favorite of Italian chefs. As we wait for the colors of spring to arrive on our plates, the dark tendrils offer an unexpected intrigue.
Humanity’s relationship with cephalopod ink is an ancient one. Greek and Roman civilizations used cuttlefish ink, called sepia, for writing. Leonardo da Vinci rendered many drawings of his fantastic machines in sepia, and photographers used it to tone photographs for their archives. In the kitchen, chefs prefer squid ink for its deep black color rather than sepia’s rusty brown hue. Once the ink sac is split and emptied, the ink is frozen and sold to restaurants and markets, usually in one-pound increments that can be defrosted and stirred into pasta flour along with eggs and water.
Finding squid ink at a market can be difficult—try gourmet Italian groceries like New York and Chicago’s Eataly—but premade ink pastas are more easily tracked down. If you do opt for the liquid, though, remember what any Italian chef knows: that ink will stain your cutting board and fingers in your pursuit of perfect pasta.
saffron gemelli
View recipe on page 75 »
The seafood pasta recipes collected here from top Italian restaurants in Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco vary in difficulty. Ambitious cooks may try homemade pasta, while others can begin with their favorite fresh or dried pasta from the grocer. All recipes, though, call for the most pristine seafood possible. These are the dishes that beg a trip to your favorite fishmonger, where your eyes scan the bushels of tight-lipped clams, the still-briny shrimp and the smooth, white calamari. The effort is returned to you in spades. As you slip the curled pasta strands into your mouth at the dinner table, indulging in the last of winter’s richness, you also will find spring’s beginning on your lips.
