Bibo’s tagliarini nero with squid, chilli, tomato and garlic

Method

• step 1

  Make the pasta by pulsing the 00 flour, squid ink, semolina and 200ml water in a food processor until they start to come together as a dough. Turn out onto a surface and knead by hand until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Wrap in clingfilm and leave in the fridge. (Alternatively, buy some squid ink pasta from a good delicatessen – we like melburyandappleton.co.uk.)

• step 2

  For the sauce, heat the oven to 130C/fan 110C/gas ¾. Warm 50ml olive oil in a flameproof casserole dish on a low heat with some parsley stalks, the whole chilli and the 2 whole cloves of garlic. Add the squid, season lightly and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 1 hour, or until the squid is tender. When cooked, remove the squid with a slotted spoon and chill, keeping the cooking liquor.

• step 3

  Make a simple tomato sauce by cooking the 2 cloves of crushed garlic in a little olive oil, adding the tin of tomatoes, seasoning and simmering for about 20 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce has thickened. Blitz the sauce with a stick blender, then blitz the basil leaves into some olive oil, and add this to the sauce. (This prevents the basil from discolouring).

• step 4

  When the squid is cold, remove from the fridge and cut into thin slices.

• step 5

  Remove the pasta dough from the fridge and divide into 4 pieces, then pass each through a pasta roller at number 2 setting until thin, before putting them through a tagliarini or tagliatelle attachment with a dusting of flour.

• step 6

  Finely chop the remaining garlic and fry with the chilli in a little olive oil for 2 minutes. Add 3 tbsp of the retained squid cooking liquor and the tomato sauce. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until slightly thickened. Cook the tagliarini briefly, for 1-2 minutes, in plenty of salted water (fresh, thin pasta needs very little cooking, and will continue to cook in the sauce). Drain the pasta, add to the pan with the sauce, and add the chopped squid. Scatter over some chopped parsley, check the seasoning and toss, keeping the pan over the heat until the sauce is reduced and sticks to the pasta.