How To: Make Homemade Black Pasta Dough with Squid Ink

When you think squid ink, you don't normally think of pasta, but that's just because you're not thinking of black pasta! Yes, squid ink is indeed edible, despite its thick, gooey texture, and it's used most commonly as food coloring for pasta dough. And adding color to fresh pasta opens up a world of ideas for sauce, meat, herb, or cheese pairings!

Roberta Dowling shares her technique for fresh pasta dough with squid ink. The transformation of flour, eggs and salt into a smooth jet-black ball of dough with just a small amount of the ink is fascinating. After a brief rest in the refrigerator, you're free to roll and shape the dough any way you like.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 4 eggs
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup squid ink
• if dough feels dry, add another egg white, egg yolk or 2-4 tbsp water

Special Equipment

• disposable food service gloves
• bench knife/pastry scraper
• plastic wrap