Best Homemade Squid-Ink Pasta (Step by Step)

This article will teach you how to prepare delicious homemade squid-Ink pasta step by step.

This recipe works well for tagliatelle and tagliolini, but you can also use it for stuffed cappelletti or caramelle.

First, I’ll show you how to make simple tagliatelle with squid-ink dough.

After that, you’ll find instructions for more advanced types of pasta, as well as tips for cooking, storing, and drying the black pasta.

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How to Make Squid-Ink Pasta at Home (By Hand)

The production of black pasta dough with sepia ink is virtually identical to classic pasta dough.

The only difference is that the egg mixture is previously mixed with a small amount of sepia ink powder to obtain the color.

You can find alternatives for this recipe in my article:

• Pasta dough with squid-ink

Step 1: Form a flour well, pour the egg mixture, and slowly work in the flour.

First, I empty the flour onto the work surface and form a well about six inches wide.

Then I add the egg mixture (previously mixed with the squid-ink) to the center of the trough and gradually work in some of the flour from the outer wall with a fork.

If you got the ink in powder form, you can add it to the egg mixture and mix well.

I use roughly 5 grams of squid-ink powder per 500 grams of flour. In the end, the color of the egg mixture will be precisely the same as the pasta dough.

Step 2: Mix all the flour with the egg mixture to create a crumbly dough.

Once a viscous liquid has formed, I incorporate the remaining flour with my dough scraper. To do this, I slide it under the flour base from each side, dump it over the well, and then mix it all together thoroughly, creating a crumbly mass.

Step 3: Knead the dough into a smooth ball for at least 10 minutes, adding a little water or flour if necessary.

Next, knead the crumbly mass with your hands into pasta dough. It may take 10 minutes or more, but it is ready only when the pasta dough has a silky surface and no longer sticks.

There are several kneading techniques, one of which I find particularly compelling:

Apply forward pressure to the dough with the heel of your hand. Pull the dough back with the other hand, rotating it slightly, about 45°. Repeat the process until all the dough crumbs are incorporated.

If the pasta dough is very dry and there is still a lot of flour left on the work surface, you can spray it generously with a small amount of water and continue kneading.

Step 4: Wrap the pasta dough airtight in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Once I finish the dough, I let it rest for another 30 minutes so that the gluten network can fully form and the dough becomes elastic.

To do this, wrap it airtight in plastic wrap and rest it at room temperature away from direct light for at least 30 minutes.

Step 5: Roll out into a 1-millimeter thin pasta sheet.

The dough sheet should be at most 1 millimeter for ribbon noodles. A good indicator that you reached the required thickness is when the work surface becomes visible through the dough.

Here is how you can roll out the dough:

Place the rolling pin in the center of the dough disk and stretch it forward in a short, wave-like motion.

Then rotate the disc about 45 degrees and repeat the process. If the dough sticks, sprinkle it with a bit of flour.

Tip: as soon as the dough disk is somewhat larger, pull it towards you across the work surface so that a third protrudes. It makes it easier on your back because you don’t have to lean so far forward. On top of that, the dough stretches more quickly due to gravity.

Step 6: Fold the pasta dough several times and cut it into strips.

You completed a significant part of the work. Now you have to shape the noodles.

To make ribbon noodles, fold the dough into itself several times. It makes it easy to get evenly shaped noodles.

Tip: I let the dough dry on both sides for about 5 minutes before folding it. This way, I ensure that the noodles can be formed into nests afterward without sticking together.

If the dough sheet is still sticky, sprinkle it with flour. Otherwise, the noodles will weld together when you cut them, and you’ll have to separate them individually by hand.

With a sharp knife, I divide the pasta at regular intervals (about 1 centimeter for tagliatelle).

Lastly, a little trick: before you cut the pasta, turn the pasta sheet so that one end is facing up. It will make it easier to form the pasta nests because you can grab the tagliatelle all at once.

Step 7: Grab the ends of each noodle and form nests out of them.

Whether you want to dry the noodles, freeze them, or use them right away: Forming pasta nests is the best way to store them to save space temporarily.

Hold the ends of the pasta in one hand and wrap the pasta once around with the other hand, as shown in the pictures.

You get stunning black ribbon noodles!

Aren’t they pretty?

Now you have several options. You can:

• Cook the homemade pasta
• Freeze the fresh pasta
• Dry the pasta and store it for a long time

Note that fresh pasta cooks much faster than dried. Usually, 2 to 3 minutes is enough.

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