All I can think about is having like a black ring around my lips and black teeth and tongue after eating ink. Sort of an Elvira look about me..hmmm..maybe I'll serve it on Halloween..or make all the kids eat it before they get their candy.

Hi

My mother was born in Padua just near Venice. She makes it with rice though. She does not use squid. She uses cuttlefish. "Riso e seppie" is the name of the dish. The dish is popular with the Spanish too and there is some conjecture whether it originates from Italy or Spain. I love seafood but I must confess that this is the only dish I don't like (apart from Oysters Naturale). Hence I'm quite willing to concede the origins of this dish to the Spaniards! It is served up in its icky blackness and has a distinctly fishy taste. Too overpowering for me. But I do feel you should try it. As someone suggested perhaps order it as an entree or side dish.

Buon appetito

Salty/fishy. Mostly salty. Be careful when you eat it though, my husband ruined a perfectly good shirt when he got a little "spagetti backsplash". (Little black specs) The waiter must have been accustomed to this as he promplty brought a can of some type of stain spray - it didn't work.

What is the difference between squid and cuttlefish? I thought they were the same thing until I ordered cuttlefish at a restaurant in Rome and the proprietor was amazed that I would ever think cuttlefish was squid. After eating it, I'm still confused.

LOL, what a wonderful thread! Thank you ceb1222, you have brought up such an interesting subject.

cmt, what happens to all those pig livers. That is a good question LOL. I don't think I ever have heard of pig livers. Calf and chicken livers but pig livers? Does someone here know

Hi crefloors, there was a restaurant in Carmel, Swedish or Danish I don't remember which. Picled herring was served, I cringed, but I actually loved it. And there was a small French restaurant outside of Napa that moved to outside of Sonoma that served snails. And even though so many thought it was digusting I did liked them in a garlicky butter. But I like raw oysters, mussels etc. I like rabbit and venison also so guess I have strange taste.

And cmt, about lamb. My father who was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia like lamb more then beef. I grew up eating lamb. And of course you and I both know that Italians love lamb. A problem in my family at Easter is my Rome born and raised SIL likes leg of lamb for Easter as I do but my daughter and the rest of the family does not. They want ham. Ham is not one of my favorite meats. But you are right, some people do not like the aroma of lamb, but those of us do really do, don't we? Especially with garlic inserted into the lamb and lemon juice. And rosemary sprigs on top. Oh sigh! And I too have discovered that so many people, especially where I live know have never eaten lamb. It amazes me!

And oh worldinthebag, I can only imagine how wonderful your mothers risotto was! And Padua is such a beautiful city. Lucky you!!!

So, I will go to bed hungry after all this talk of fantastic food! Mangia!

it really depends how it's made...

i love seafood of all varieties and have had squid ink pasta many times outside of venice (in restaurants and at home with pasta from the market). All these times, i would agree with the posters that the taste was very mild and the major difference from "regular" pasta was the colour.

however, when i had this dish in venice and the taste was much bolder. the flavour was fantastic but i have to say that after several mouthfuls it became quite overpowering. after the meal, i was tasting the very strong fish taste for at least 24 hours.

it is hard to separate the taste of the sauce from the pasta but this strong taste i have to attribute mostly to the pasta. i would certainly recommend trying it in venice and yes, i would order it again.

It tastes like shi*.

In response to the zoologically curious, squid and cuttlefish are both members of the Class Cephalopoda (which includes octopus, the chambered nautilus, and a few other similar critters) of the Phylum Mollusca (which includes clams and snails), so they're relatively closely related. Cuttlefish have an external shell, but otherwise the two animals are quite similar anatomically, and each has an ink sac.

It depends on whether you mean just the dried pasta dyed with ink or the pasta with a sauce made of ink. The former tastes pretty much like any other pasta to me - it's just that's it's black. I had the pasta with cuttlefish ink sauce in Venice this year & found it hard going - the sauce wasn't unpleasant but it was really thick, intense and rich. The first mouthful was quite nice but I couldn't eat more than a few mouthfuls.

Hi Nikki
>What is the difference between squid and cuttlefish? <

Google the names and click "images".

((I))

It tastes about like you'd expect, but not as interesting.

Another question for the rabidly curious: Just what <i>is</i> squid ink? I mean what purpose does it serve for the squid? Is it a liquid he/she releases to provide protection from prey or what?

Ira, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Squid have ink for defense. When persued by a predator, they can release clouds of ink in an attempt to make a getaway &quot;under cover&quot;.

I was in Sicily last week (report to follow once finished) , and brought back two jars of Squid ink, so I can make my own pasta sauce or paella.

Sorry - in my earlier post I inadvertently typed &quot;external&quot; instead of &quot;internal&quot; in describing the shell of the cuttlefish. It is indeed internal, and is known as the &quot;cuttlebone&quot; - it's that ovoid rasplike object that's sold in pet stores for pet birds to rub their beaks on. Squid also have in internal stiffening structure called the &quot;pen&quot; that's made of clear plastic-like substance called chitin. The chambered nautilus is a similar squid-like creature that does in fact have an external shell, which is often sawed in half and sold in shell shops.

This post reminds me of the last time I was in Venice ... although I've never tried it (and can't say I ever will) a lady sitting at a table next to my family was eating pasta with squid ink. I'm not sure if she really wasn't aware, but as she was slurping up her pasta, the noodles were slapping her face, leaving black lines all over her face! I really don't think she knew she had black lines all over her face, and she was alone so no one told her. LOL It was hard not to sit and stare at her! Sorry, a little off the topic, but just thought about this memory while reading this post and decided to share!

&gt;...as she was slurping up her pasta, the noodles were slapping her face, leaving black lines all over her face!&lt;

That'll teach her to slurp her pasta.

((I))

Got it once by mistake in Lisbon. What does it taste like? Who knows? I ate the bread.

Excuse me, but I think I'm going to lose my lunch now.....

Thanks for all the responses! I used to be the pickiest eater, and I especially hated all fish and seafood. I guess my tastebuds matured along with me! The first dish to get me over the hurdle was fried calamari; then, believe it or not, sushi. I figured once I liked sushi that I'd HAVE to start liking other types of fish. Now I'm nearly a certified &quot;foodie&quot;, and I eat and enjoy lots of different types of food.

I will definitely try it - I've made it a policy to try new food! I just wanted to have a heads up...

So another question: it seems like there are two types - pasta dyed with squid ink, and an actual squid ink sauce... I always assumed it was a sauce, but I'm guessing pasta dyed with it is kind of like eating tri-colored tortellini here in America? If it's pasta or risotto with a squid ink SAUCE, is there anything else in the sauce? Guess I'll have to plan a trip to Italy to find out!

Cigalechante - I will look it up online, thanks! On a side note - I love beef stroganoff - glad your father in law liked it too! That's a traditional dish in my family...

Where in Spain is squid ink a specialty? I lived in Sevilla for a semester during school, but never saw this... Of course, at that time, I was still in my &quot;no fish&quot; stage!