Veneto
Preparation - Medium
Serves 4 - 6

This rice dish from Venice has become a classic worldwide, both for its unusual black color and for its very delicate taste. Cuttlefish ink is also used to color pasta.

10 oz (315 g) cuttlefish or whole squid
1/2 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cups (l3oz/410g) Arborio rice
4 cups (1 qt/1 L) boiling fish broth (stock)
3 tablespoons (2oz/60g) butter
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Clean the cuttlefish by removing eyes, beak and transparent quill. Remove and reserve ink sac. Place cuttlefish in a bowl of cold water and soak for 30 minutes. Peel off as much skin as possible, cut the cuttlefish into strips and wash in plenty of cold water.

Saute' onion and garlic in the oil until translucent. Add the cuttlefish and cook over moderate heat until golden, stirring from time to time. Add salt and pepper reduce heat, cover and cook for 30 minutes.

Add the rice and stir briefly over high heat to blend flavors. Four in several ladlefuls of boiling broth, the ink from the cuttlefish sac, and then little by little the rest of the boiling broth. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly.

Stir in the butter and parsley, remove from heat and let rice rest for a couple of minutes, covered. Stir once more and serve.

Adapted from:
Italy the Beautiful Cookbook
Lorenza De'Medici
Collins Publishers