Black Squid Ink Pasta with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

First off, I must apologize for my absence. Things have gotten quite crazy lately. I tried to blog a few times, but either the dish wasn't worthy, or the photos didn't turn out well. So here I am, a few months late.

One tool in the kitchen that I absolutely love, without a doubt, is the KitchenAid Stand Mixer. My boyfriend and personal sous chef has had one for a while, and I've spoiled him with a plethora of attachments. However, I was recently blessed with a mixer of my own! I can't tell you how ecstatic I am. Stay tuned for more posts on why I think these things truly are a necessity.
One of my all time favorite attachment genres for the stand mixer are the various pasta attachments. I never knew how good fresh pasta tasted in comparison to dried pasta until I bought the sous chef an assortment of cutters and the roller. Our favorite is home made semolina spaghetti and a meat sauce, but I wanted to kick it up a notch and experiment.
The sous chef has an awesome book called The Pasta Bible. It's an amazing book that has everything you've ever wanted to know about pasta. It has gorgeous photos, and wonderful illustrations and some really great recipes.

It truly is an inspiration when dealing with pasta. There is one spread in particular that is one of my favorites. It shows all sorts of different pastas; flavors and colors both. I was quite intrigued the first time I saw the black pasta dough. It said it was colored by squid ink, which the book claims is purely for color and is virtually tasteless. I've seen the idea incorporated many time into dishes created by Food Network's Iron Chefs. I had to get my hands on some. You can find squid ink at many fish markets, and in the foreign foods aisle of most supermarkets. A jar of it was donated to my cause quite generously by a friend.

Upon first opening of the jar I was quite surprised at the smell. It smelled like fish... and not fresh fish. I thought to myself that there was no way that this stuff could be virtually tasteless. No way, not smelling like that. I dipped my finger in and decided to taste it. It was surprisingly good, but NOT tasteless. It tasted similar to black caviar. I thought the saltiness would actually work well in pasta, but everything I read said the same thing... tasteless. We'll have to see about that.
You can make fresh pasta without any special tools, but using the stand mixer makes it SO much easier. It does all the kneading, flattening, and cutting in no time flat. I would recommend trying fresh pasta to anyone who loves to eat it. One downside to the squid ink pasta is that it is messy. Good news is that it doesn't stain most surfaces. Watch for fabric though!

The stand mixer allows you roll out thin sheets...

and cut into a variety of noodles...

Fresh pasta boils to fluffy al dente in about seven minutes. It floats to the surface, so you have to agitate it often to ensure even cooking. After I boiled the squid ink fettuccine, I tossed it with roasted red bell peppers.

You can roast your own red bell peppers by putting them on a burner, grill, or under a broiler until the skin is black and blistered. Remove the skins by placing the roasted bells into a paper bag and shaking vigorously. Rinse the remaining residue and then remove the seeds and cut into strips. OR you could buy them jarred like I do. Red bell peppers where I live are usually pretty pricey, so it's not much more to buy them roasted in the jar. I like this option because then I always have some on hand to pop into my favorite dishes. We roast our own occasionally in the summer on the grill, but I do enjoy the convenience of jarred once in a while.
After tossing the red bells and pasta together, I plated and topped with the Gorgonzola cream sauce. Here's where I made a small mistake. The Gorgonzola cream sauce recipe I chose was not the type you would normally put on pasta, but more a finishing sauce that you would drizzle over beef tenderloin. What did that mean? This sauce was absolutely delicious, but really rich. We liberally spooned on the sauce and coated all the noodles and dug right in. However halfway through the dish, it became too heavy, and too much. It still would have been a good pairing if we had used less sauce. You need the break of plain pasta in there to mix it up.

The sauce was great, and I'll use it again, but next time I make it for pasta, I'll use a recipe that has chicken stock in it and that starts by making a roux (a balance of fat and flour that acts as a thickening agent). And the noodles? Virtually the same taste as regular pasta. The texture seemed a little different, but the squid ink pasta is an egg noodle base, and we usually do a semolina pasta.
Next time you're feeling a little adventurous, try making your own pasta! It's fun and the results are amazing.

Squid Ink Pasta
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus 1/2 cup*
4 extra large eggs
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 ounce squid ink, available in speciality food shops

Make a mound of the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs, oil and squid ink. Using a fork, beat together the eggs, oil and squid ink and begin to incorporate the flour starting with the inner rim of the well.

As you expand the well, keep pushing the flour up to retain the well shape. Do not worry that this initial phase looks messy. The dough will come together when 1/2 of the flour is incorporated.

Start kneading the dough with both hands, using the palms of your hands primarily.

Once you have a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up any left over crusty bits. Lightly flour the board and continue kneading for 3 more minutes, the dough should be elastic and a little sticky. Continue to knead for another 3 minutes, remembering to dust your board when necessary. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Note: do not skip the kneading or resting portion of this recipe, they are essential for a light pasta.

*I used the stand mixer to do my mixing and kneading with it's specialized dough hook. To do this in a stand mixer, add only half the flour to start, then add more as appropriate to get the right texture.

Gorgonzola Cream Sauce (Remember, this is more of a finishing version)
4 cups heavy cream
3 to 4 ounces crumbly Gorgonzola (not creamy or "dolce")
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Bring the heavy cream to a full boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, then continue to boil rapidly for 45 to 50 minutes, until thickened like a white sauce, stirring occasionally.

Off the heat, add the Gorgonzola, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and parsley. Whisk rapidly until the cheeses melt and serve warm. If you must reheat, warm the sauce over low heat until melted, then whisk vigorously until the sauce comes together.

I also added sauteed mushrooms for mine and they were heavenly.

Bon Appetit!