Arroz Negro — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A dramatic jet-black rice dish from the Spanish coast, colored by squid ink and loaded with tender calamari, simmered in a rich seafood stock until each grain is saturated with briny, umami flavor.

Ingredients

300g bomba or calasparra rice
500g fresh squid, cleaned and sliced into rings
4 sachets squid ink (about 16g)
1 liter fish or seafood stock
1 onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 ripe tomatoes, grated
100ml white wine
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Aioli for serving

Instructions

1 Heat olive oil in a wide pan. Sauté squid rings over high heat for 2 minutes until lightly colored. Remove and set aside.
2 In the same pan, sauté onion for 5 minutes. Add garlic and grated tomato, cook 5 minutes until jammy.
3 Pour in white wine and let it reduce by half. Add squid ink sachets and stir to dissolve.
4 Add rice and stir to coat in the ink mixture. Pour in hot stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer.
5 Cook without stirring for 18 minutes. Return squid rings in the last 3 minutes.
6 Remove from heat, cover with a towel, and rest 5 minutes. Serve with a generous dollop of aioli.

Did You Know?

Despite its dramatic appearance, squid ink has a subtle briny taste — the black color is far more intense than the flavor.