Squid Ink Pasta With Pumpkin, Sage, and Brown Butter

Squid ink pasta tossed with sage brown butter and served in a baked pumpkin.

Squid Ink Pasta with Pumpkin in Browned Butter Sage Sauce
Elise Bauer

Okay, I know. This is one of those weird ones.

But if you are looking for something spooky and delicious for Halloween, squid ink pasta is perfect. Pair it with a bright orange pumpkin, and you are set!

What Is Squid Ink Pasta?

Have you ever had squid ink pasta?

It's pasta that has been flavored (and naturally colored) with jet black squid ink. Which now that I think about it, doesn't sound particularly appetizing, unless of course you've tried it. In which case you will go to great lengths to obtain and consume it.

squid ink pasta
Naturally black squid ink pasta. Elise Bauer

Squid ink pasta is absolutely delicious! Like, don't-bother-me, leave-me-alone-while-I-savor-this, wow-this-is-good, delicious.

As for the specific taste? The pasta itself is only lightly flavored with the squid ink, so the pasta tastes like pasta, just really good. (How's that for an explanation?)

Squid Ink Pasta with Pumpkin in Browned Butter Sage Sauce
Elise Bauer

I developed this recipe to be sort of like a deconstructed classic pumpkin ravioli in sage brown butter sauce, except that the pumpkin is on the outside, and the pasta with the sage brown butter sauce is on the inside.

To eat it, you can take a small scoop of pumpkin from the inside of the pumpkin and swirl it with a little pasta.

Do you like squid ink pasta? What's your favorite preparation? Please let us know in the comments. I have more that I haven't yet cooked, so I'm looking for ideas, thanks!

Squid Ink Pasta with Pumpkin in Browned Butter Sage Sauce
Elise Bauer

Squid Ink Pasta With Pumpkin, Sage, and Brown Butter

Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 70 mins
Total Time 90 mins
Servings 4 servings

Squid ink pasta typically comes as either spaghetti or linguine; either will work fine.

We dust the insides of the pumpkin with a little sugar, just to accentuate the sweetness of the pumpkin. You can use either brown or white sugar, or skip it all together.

Ingredients

  • 4 small sugar pumpkins, each about 1 pound to 1 1/2 pound

  • Salt

  • 2 to 4 teaspoons white sugar, or 2 to 4 tablespoons brown sugar (to taste)

  • 1 pound squid ink pasta

  • 6 tablespoons butter

  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh sage leaves (with a few small whole leaves for garnish)

  • A splash apple cider vinegar

Method

  1. Prepare and bake the pumpkin shells:

    Heat the oven to 350°F. Slice off the top quarter of each pumpkin and scoop out the insides. (Save the seeds to make toasted pumpkin seeds.)

    Using a strong metal spoon or a small sharp knife, scrape all the fibrous insides out of the pumpkins. Sprinkle the insides of the pumpkins with salt and sugar.

    cut pumpkins
    Elise Bauer
    cleaned out pumpkin shells
    Elise Bauer

    Set the pumpkins on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 1 hour, or until a fork easily pierces the flesh and the edges are lightly browned.

    cooked pumpkin shells
    Elise Bauer
  2. Start cooking the pasta:

    Prepare the pasta water while the pumpkins are cooking. Bring a large pot of well salted water (it should taste like the sea) to a boil. When the pumpkins have about 10 minutes to go before they're done, add the pasta to the boiling water.

    When the pumpkins are cooked remove them from the oven to a serving dish or plates.

  3. Make the brown butter sauce with sage:

    While the pasta is cooking, prepare the brown butter sauce. Heat the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the sage leaves and cook until browned bits begin to form in the butter and there is a lovely nutty aroma.

    browned butter with sage sauce
    Elise Bauer

    Remove any whole sage leaves you are using for garnish.

    Remove the pan from the heat and pour the brown butter into a large serving bowl (this will stop the butter from cooking further). Browned butter can easily turn to blackened butter, which is not the flavor you want for this recipe.

  4. Stir in the pasta into the brown butter sauce, add vinegar, salt:

    When the pasta is ready (al dente, slightly firm, but cooked through), use tongs to remove the pasta from the pot to the large bowl with the brown butter.

    Allow some of the water from the pasta to drip into the bowl, it will help with the sauce. Toss the pasta with the brown butter.

    Splash a little cider vinegar over it. Taste for salt, it will likely need a bit more, especially if you've used unsalted butter. Add more if needed.

  5. Serve:

    Serve the pasta in the baked pumpkin shells. Garnish with reserved whole sage leaves that you had cooked with the sliced sage in the butter.

Links:

Pumpkin Pasta with Squid Ink Sauce - from Salty Seattle

Babbo's Black Pasta - from Just a Taste

Black Pasta, Black Trumpet Mushrooms and Black Garlic Sauce - from Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

Squid Ink Spaghetti with Shrimp and White Truffle Oil from Lemons and Anchovies

Wikipedia on squid ink

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
317 Calories
18g Fat
37g Carbs
6g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 317
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 18g 23%
Saturated Fat 11g 56%
Cholesterol 46mg 15%
Sodium 436mg 19%
Total Carbohydrate 37g 14%
Dietary Fiber 6g 20%
Total Sugars 12g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 22mg 108%
Calcium 81mg 6%
Iron 3mg 18%
Potassium 1096mg 23%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.