Comments on: “The Last Supper” – Seafood Paella with Squid Ink

By: Ciela Tanjuatco

Ciela Tanjuatco — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 09:46:57 +0000

I love Paella! When I visited Spain, I was surprised to find out they had so many ways of cooking it. Paella Negra is still my favorite. And I agree, the darker the better. Claude Tayag cooks a very mean Paella with his custom made, 4 feet diameter paellera. He cooks it the traditional Spanish way, outdoors, for everyone to feast on. And it’s a fact that the larger the dish the more difficult it is to cook. And for your paella bursting with seafoods… I just love it. Go ahead, add more to your heart’s delight. It’s one of the reasons I love paella, aside from being meant to share in large family gatherings, it’s such a complete dish.

By: goodtimer

goodtimer — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 18:14:46 +0000

yes, MM, I literally struggled to keep those fresh sacs intact (which was really a pain in the ass to remove!). they burst into a beautiful inky jet black color upon contact with heat. however for some of the bigger sacs (which have tougher skins) they have to be mashed into the rice, and boy, you’d be amazed at how they generate all those ink! i’m sure you’ll get it all black next time what with all the suggestions in this site. have a nice vacation! i could already imagine all your foodie stories from europe that you’ll be sharing with us soon. i had the best vongole spaghetti in florence. tiny clams in a simple but flavorful olive oil and garlic base. hope you can get those yummy recipes!

By: Marketman

Marketman — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 13:28:49 +0000

goodtimer, you dont burst the ink sacs? Maybe that’s what I did wrong besides not using enough of it… hmmm, one more try when I get back from vacation…

By: goodtimer

goodtimer — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 12:12:06 +0000

Couldn’t resist cooking paella negra last weekend to experiment with the ink and the procedure to make it black. Upon my mom’s suggestion, I used ink from 1.5 kg lumot squid, took great care to extract the ink sacs without bursting, for a recipe using 1 kg Carnarolli rice (about 5 cups). Initially I put in half of the ink after sauteeing the rice, then added the seafood stock. At this point the rice stock turned a really jet black color. As the rice absorbed the liquid, I added the remaining ink a sac at a time, and I was happy to note how the rice got blacker everytime an ink sac burst in the hot liquid. I figured with this amount of rice, ink from 1 kilo lumot would have sufficed, though I loved the intense flavor(and color!!)brought about by the abundance of squid ink. No need for ink sachets!

By: mike

mike — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 11:46:24 +0000

hi MM! i had paella negra a couple of weeks ago at a friend’s place and it really was black . . . will ask her how she achieved the right colour! i have also been promised by another friend a paella negra treat at her place one of these days . . . will also try to document that!

By: Marketman

Marketman — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 01:31:20 +0000

Hi everyone, I was away for a day or two… yes, you can get sachets at Terry’s. Yes, I think sachets are a good alternative but there is a stubborn streak in me that wants to figure this out in an all natural way. Thanks for all the suggestions re: mashing in water, oil, wine, etc…I will keep trying. Lee, yes, as usual, you get the point and smiling with SQUID INK is definitely a yes for me… madrid, thanks for the suggestions…I know, my paellas tend to burst with “laman.” And for those looking for a detailed recipe I have two in my archives. One for a traditional paella with a very lengthy recipe in excruciating detail and one for paella negra…

By: tei

tei — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 23:47:10 +0000

just wanted to ask where i can buy the squid ink sachets? are they available in santi’s or terry’s? thanks in advance.

By: madrid

madrid — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 18:50:46 +0000

Hello from Madrid, Spain! I’ve been reading a lot of your posts. Most of the time its to remind how much I miss HOME!!My mother in law’s recipe includes tomatoes and “pimenton” which helps darken the color. Here, almost everybody uses the frozen ink because its just impossible to get sufficient ink for an entire paella. Your paella looks pretty good, although I wouldn’t put so much stuff into it. Lumut would be totally enough considering the strong flavor of the ink. Then a little bit of home made alioli on the side.

By: Zita

Zita — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 13:47:41 +0000

I think specialty shops have squid inks in a jar for sale. Try them if you can get your hands on it. I’ve seen them here, but not in the Philippines. Still, your paella looks fantabulous and it looks like it tastes even better.

By: Lizzie

Lizzie — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 12:57:36 +0000

MM, I added the ink when my paella is almost cooked. It is really black.