Seppie al Nero, a Venetian specialty, celebrates the marriage of cuttlefish and its ink sac, both prized in local cuisine. The dish, showcasing a deep dark hue, is a testament to Venice's cucina povera, reminding of times when squid ink flavored the humble rice or polenta. This preparation serves four, spotlighting ingredients like olive oil, garlic, onion, and a splash of white wine. After gently infusing the oil with garlic, sauté onions until they're soft. Introduce cuttlefish strips, followed by ink, wine, tomatoes, and seasoning. Simmer gently, ensuring the cuttlefish turns tender. Before serving, sprinkle chopped parsley for a fresh touch. The dish pairs perfectly with soft white polenta or crostini. Enjoy the rich, briny flavors of this Venetian classic.
Ingredients
60ml(2 fl oz / 1/4 cup) olive oil
1garlic clove, peeled and squashed
1onion, sliced
300g(10 1/2 oz) cuttlefish, cleaned (see Note) and cut into thin strips
1-2teaspoonssquid ink, or the contents of the cuttlefish’s own ink sac
125ml(4 fl oz / 1/2 cup) dry white wine
200g(7 oz) puréed or peeled tinned tomatoes (about half a tin)
a few parsley sprigs, finely chopped
soft white polenta or crostini, to serve
Instructions
Gently heat the olive oil in a wide saucepan and infuse it with the garlic clove for a few minutes, being careful to keep the heat on low so the garlic doesn’t burn but only turns slightly golden. Remove the clove, then add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 7 minutes or so. Add the cuttlefish and turn the heat up to medium and cook for about 2 minutes, then add the ink, the wine, tomatoes and a good pinch of sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Bring to a simmer, then turn the heat down to low and cover the pan. Let it cook for about 30 minutes, occasionally stirring and checking for tenderness (a fork should easily pierce the cuttlefish like butter). If it begins to look like the sauce has reduced too much, add some water to top it up. At the last minute, stir through the parsley and taste for seasoning, adding more salt or pepper if needed. The onions and cuttlefish make this quite a sweet-tasting dish. Serve over soft white polenta or atop bread or polenta crostini.
Notes
If you have procured some beautiful, whole cuttlefish and are planning to use the ink sacs inside, proceed carefully so as not to break them. First, pierce the membrane near the large, flat cuttlefish bone (this should be done with a fingernail) and then you can easily pull out the bone. Without this structure in the way, you should now be able to see the innards through the almost transparent membrane – carefully pierce this (again, a fingernail should do it or you can use a small knife, just be careful not to be too enthusiastic with it). Once you open up the cuttlefish this way, the innards will be exposed and you can find the ink sac right at the bottom, an almost glowing, silvery-blue orb. Gently cut it out and set aside on a plate. Cut and remove the rest of the innards. Cut off the tentacles, avoiding the eyes and beak, which you can discard – you can cut the tentacles in half or leave intact if small. Peel the skin off the cuttlefish, which is most easily done from the wings, which you can pull off too. You should be left with a flap of white cuttlefish flesh that you can now cut into thin strips. If you do not have whole cuttlefish with the ink sac or cannot get cuttlefish ink separately, you can also do this without the ink, you’ll simply have a red sauce instead of the characteristic black sauce, but it will still be delicious.