Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia - Squid Ink Spaghetti

Noop, it ain't no modern artwork or some kind of contemporary drawing,
This is just your old simple spaghetti, but with squid ink!

I was in a serious craving for squid ink spaghetti one night,
So here's your typical impulsive buying behavior example,
I got the pasta within 10 minutes online!

Somehow for some reason, squid ink spaghetti is a little bit hard to find around my neighborhood,
Well, if I'm down for paying $20+ per "small" plate of noodles, yes, it's there somewhere,
But with that $20, I can make at least 4 "gigantic" plates of noodles, noodles drowning in fresh seafood,
Decision made, let's cook spaghetti al nero di seppia tonight!

Ingredients (for 4)?

25 medium sized shrimps (peeled, deveined)
8 small calamari (cut into big sizes, I also use the tentacles)
3 large shallots (chopped)
3 garlic cloves (peeled, minced)
1/3 cup of dry white wine
Some fresh basil (julienned, I used about 1/4 cup)
1 can of diced tomatoes (drained)
2 teaspoons of tomato paste
1 lemon
Red pepper flakes
Sea salt
Olive oil
Tabasco sauce (if desired)

How?

Depend on how much you eat (can't really use my standard, it's kind of "too much" compare to regular human being),
So depend on how much you eat, grab 4 portions of squid ink spaghetti and cook in a pot of boiling water,
Remember to add some salt in the water first!

Have a large pan ready, drizzle some olive oil and toss in chopped shallots along with some sea salt and red pepper flakes,
Cook till it turned slightly translucent, toss in minced garlic, give it a quick stir.

Now add in the shrimps, season with more salt,
I actually add a little bit of salt every time I toss more stuff into the pan,
Season every layer - like Giada, the Food Network star said on TV.

Add the calamari once the shrimps turned slightly pink,
More salt of course, also add the wine, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste,
Give it a quick stir again. 
Now put in some fresh lemon zests, the juice from that lemon, and most of the julienned basil leaves (save some for garnish later),
Bring to a boil and turn to medium heat,
Taste to see if more salt or tomato paste is needed.
(Don't forget to check the other pot of boiling water, make sure the spaghetti is not sticking to each other or to the bottom)

Drain out all the liquid when the spaghetti is done, preferably "al dente."
Transfer to the pan and mix well with the sauce.

Garnish with some basil and possibly a lemon wedge,
Serve with Tabasco sauce if desired, it goes really well with this dish.

Now.....Dig in!

P.S. I just launched my Chinese blog not long ago, if you can ready Chinese, come visit me!:
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/cindylo326

Cindy's Rating: 8