Venetian seppie al nero with polenta: cuttlefish stewed in their own ink, with white wine and onion, on soft white polenta. Ready in 1 hour 20.
Introduction
Seppie al nero are the darkest dish in Venetian cooking, and one of the best loved. They are cuttlefish stewed in their own ink, with onion, oil and a glass of white wine, until the flesh turns tender and the sauce becomes thick, black and glossy. In Venice they are almost always served with white polenta, soft and straight off the heat: the white of the maize beside the black of the cuttlefish is what catches the eye, and the polenta takes up the sauce better than any bread. In Venetian dialect the dish is called «sepe col nero», and you find it in the city's bacari as well as in the homes of Chioggia.
The secret lies in the ink, which is saved while cleaning. Every cuttlefish has a small ink sac, silvery and shiny: it has to be detached gently, without breaking it, and set aside until the end of cooking. There are two possible mistakes: cooking the cuttlefish too little, so they stay rubbery, and adding the ink too early, because it turns bitter with long cooking. The rest is patience, low heat and a glass of something sparkling.
In the glass we pour the Durello Spumante Brut by Dama del Rovere, a sparkling wine from the Monti Lessini made from Durella grapes, with a clean acidity that clears the ink from the mouth and a mineral note that suits the sea flavour of the sauce. For cooking we use the Olio Extravergine Veneto del Grappa by Oro de Pòe, a mild, fresh oil that does not cover the cuttlefish.
The Story of Seppie al Nero
Cuttlefish is one of the most common catches in the Venice lagoon and the northern Adriatic. In spring it comes close to the shore to lay its eggs, and the fishermen of Chioggia and Pellestrina take it with nets and with creels, the net traps left on the bottom. For centuries it was cheap, everyday food, and the humble cooking of the lagoon learned to waste none of it: not even the ink, which the mollusc uses to defend itself and which in the kitchen becomes a savoury dressing with an intense taste of the sea.
From that habit come the Venetian dishes al nero: stewed cuttlefish, risotto, spaghetti. Cuttlefish with polenta is the oldest and simplest version, the one of the osterie and of home kitchens. In the Veneto polenta was the daily bread, and the one served with fish is white, made from the white maize grown between Treviso, Padua and Venice, such as Biancoperla: more delicate than yellow polenta, it leaves room for the flavour of the sea. Even today, in the Venetian bacari, a plate of seppie al nero with a slice of polenta is a complete lunch.
Ingredients
For the cuttlefish
- fresh cuttlefish, with the ink sac1 kg
- white onion1
- garlic1 clove
- Veneto del Grappa Filtered Extra Virgin Olive Oil 500ml4 tablespoons
- dry white wine100 ml
- tomato paste1 tablespoon
- chopped parsley1 tablespoon
- fine saltas needed
- black pepperas needed
For the white polenta
- white maize flour for polenta300 g
- water1,3 litres
- coarse salt1 tablespoon
Nutritional Values per Serving
Values calculated from the recipe's ingredients using the CREA food composition tables, and from the labels of our products where available. They are an estimate per serving, not a laboratory analysis.
Equipment Needed
- Chopping board and sharp knife
- Small bowl for the ink sacs
- Wide heavy-bottomed pan, with a lid
- Paiolo (copper polenta pot) or heavy-bottomed pot for the polenta
- Whisk and wooden spoon
Tip: If you buy the cuttlefish already cleaned, the ink sac is usually gone. You can ask the fishmonger to keep it, or use cuttlefish ink in sachets, sold at fishmongers and in supermarkets: for 1 kg of cuttlefish two 4 g sachets are enough. The flavour is a little less intense, but the colour and texture of the sauce stay right.
How to Make Seppie al Nero with Polenta — Venetian Recipe
Cleaning
Separate the head from the body of each cuttlefish. Remove the bone, the eyes and the beak, and empty the body of its innards. Among them is the ink sac, small and silvery: detach it gently, without breaking it, and put it in a small bowl. Skin the cuttlefish, rinse them and cut them into strips; leave the tentacles whole.
Chef's tip: Work at the sink and always keep the ink sac away from the running water: it is thin, and if it breaks the ink stains everything and is lost.
The polenta
Bring the salted water to the boil in the pot. Pour in the flour in a steady rain, stirring with the whisk so no lumps form, then lower the heat and switch to the wooden spoon. Let it cook for about 45 minutes, stirring often, until it comes away from the sides.
Chef's tip: White polenta for fish is kept soft: if it gets too thick, add a ladle of hot water and stir.
The stew
In the pan, warm the oil with the chopped onion and the garlic clove over low heat, until the onion turns translucent. Remove the garlic, add the cuttlefish and let them take on flavour for a few minutes. Pour in the white wine, let it evaporate, add the tomato paste dissolved in a little hot water and cook over low heat, covered, for about 30 minutes.
Chef's tip: The cuttlefish are ready when a fork goes in without resistance. If the cooking liquid dries out too much, add a splash of hot water.
The ink
Break the ink sacs in the small bowl and loosen the ink with a spoonful of hot water. Pour it over the cuttlefish, stir well and cook for another 10 minutes, uncovered, until the sauce is thick and glossy. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with parsley and serve the cuttlefish piping hot on the white polenta.
Chef's tip: Do not add the ink at the start: cooked for a long time it turns bitter. Ten minutes are enough for it to bind with the sauce.
Wine to Pair with Seppie al Nero
Seppie al nero is a seafood dish cooked for a long time, and the flavour shows it. After forty minutes of stewing the cuttlefish flesh turns tender and sweet. The ink wraps it in a thick, dark sauce that tastes of iodine and deep sea, with a slightly bitter edge that lingers in the mouth. Underneath is the cooking oil, and beside it the white polenta, soft and neutral, which takes up the sauce. The wine has three jobs: to clear the ink that coats the mouth at every bite, to respect the sweetness of the cuttlefish, and to stand up to the savouriness of the sauce without adding to the salt. Tannin is ruled out, because with cuttlefish ink it leaves a metallic, bitter aftertaste. A soft or oak-aged white does not work either, because its buttery notes clog with the sauce. What is needed is a white with high acidity, and bubbles help: they lift the ink off the palate as a sip of water would, but leave flavour behind.
Recommended Sparkling Wine
Durello Spumante Brut — Dama del Rovere — The **Durello Spumante Brut by Dama del Rovere** comes from Brenton di Roncà, in the Monti Lessini, at 450 metres of altitude and on basalt soils. Durella is the most acidic grape in the Veneto, and the second fermentation in pressure tanks by the Charmat method, about ninety days, keeps its character without adding yeasty notes. On seppie al nero it works with two tools. The very clean acidity cuts through the cooking oil and wakes up the mouth after the sweet flesh. The bubbles lift the dark film the ink leaves on the palate, and the next sip finds the clean taste of the sea again. Then there is the minerality of the volcanic soils, a savoury note that lines up with the iodine of the sauce instead of fighting it. The limit should be said: it is a fresh, light sparkling wine, not a structured one, and if the sauce is very reduced or rich in tomato the Durello seems slighter than it is. With the ink of this recipe, loosened in a little white wine, the balance holds. At 12% vol, serve it at 6-8 °C, in a white wine glass.
If You Prefer a Still Wine
BIANCODAMA Bianco Veneto IGT — Dama del Rovere — If you do not want bubbles, stay on the same hill. The **Biancodama by Dama del Rovere** comes from the same vineyards in Brenton di Roncà, and is a still white from Trebbiano di Soave with 10% Riesling, made in steel only. The Trebbiano brings a full acidity and a savouriness that recalls the volcanic soils; the Riesling adds a fine citrus scent and a tension that keeps the wine straight against the sauce. Without bubbles the acidity does all the work of clearing the mouth, and the wine has a little more body, which goes well with the polenta. It is the choice for anyone serving the cuttlefish as a one-dish meal, with a generous portion of polenta. Its limit is precisely the lack of bubbles: on the thickest ink the Biancodama clears less than the Durello, and it is worth alternating it with a sip of water. At 12% vol, serve it at 10-12 °C.
Craft Beer as an Alternative
Bold Helles Beer — Norah's Farm — With seppie al nero a beer works if it is pale, not very bitter and lively, and the **Bold Helles by Norah's Farm** has all three qualities. It is a bottom-fermented blonde in the German style, with a delicate taste of malted grain and a slightly dry finish. The carbonation clears the ink from the mouth, as the bubbles do in wine, and the malt sits well beside the polenta, which is a grain too. The hops stay in the background, and rightly so: the bitterness of a heavily hopped beer would add to the slightly bitter edge of the ink. Its limit is intensity: at 4,8% vol it is a light beer that refreshes more than it accompanies, and against the savouriness of the sauce it stays a step behind the Durello. Serve it at 6-8 °C.
Want to know more about the style? pale craft beers
What to Serve Them With
The polenta is already part of the dish, and it can be served in two ways. Soft, poured onto the plate straight from the pot, with the cuttlefish and their sauce in the middle: this is the home version, the easiest. Or toasted, left to cool in a tray, cut into slices and put on the grill: this is the bacari version, where the cuttlefish are also served as a cicchetto on a slice of polenta.
On the side a green or radicchio salad is enough, dressed with a drizzle of oil and a little vinegar, to refresh the mouth between bites. If the cuttlefish are the main course of a Venetian dinner, they can be preceded by folpetti conditi or a plate of polenta e schie: two light starters from the lagoon that prepare the way for the bolder flavour of the ink.
Variations
- Without tomato: this is the oldest version, and the one many Venetian families prefer. The sauce stays blacker and more savoury, and the taste of the sea comes through more. Just leave out the tomato paste and add an extra splash of wine.
- With toasted polenta: cook the polenta firmer, pour it into a tray and let it cool. Cut into slices and put on the grill, it makes a crisp base for the cuttlefish: this is the cicchetti version served in the bacari.
- With ink in sachets: when the cuttlefish are bought already cleaned, use two 4 g sachets of ink, added in the last ten minutes like the sac. The colour is the same, the flavour a little less intense.
- With peas: in spring, when cuttlefish and fresh peas arrive, some households add a handful of peas halfway through cooking. They bring sweetness and a green that stands out against the black.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does cuttlefish ink have a strong taste?
It has an intense taste of the sea, with a note of iodine and a slight bitter edge, but it is not aggressive. Cooked for a few minutes in the sauce it binds with the cuttlefish flesh and makes it more flavourful. It only turns bitter if it cooks too long: that is why it goes in at the end.
Where do you find cuttlefish ink?
Every fresh cuttlefish has a small **ink sac** among its innards, which is saved while cleaning. If the cuttlefish are already cleaned, the ink can be bought in sachets or jars, at fishmongers and in supermarkets: for 1 kg of cuttlefish two 4 g sachets are enough.
Why is seppie al nero served with white polenta?
Because in the Veneto polenta was everyday bread, and with fish the white one is used, made from the white maize grown between Treviso, Padua and Venice. It is more delicate than yellow polenta and leaves room for the flavour of the sea, while taking up the black sauce better than any bread.
How do you keep the cuttlefish from turning rubbery?
Cuttlefish should be cooked either very briefly, a few minutes in the pan, or for a long time, at least half an hour over low heat. Anywhere in between they stay tough. When stewing, it is best to cover the pan and test with a fork: they are ready when it goes in without resistance.
Which wine goes with seppie al nero?
A white with high acidity, ideally with bubbles, that clears the ink from the mouth at every sip. A dry sparkling wine like **Durello** from the Monti Lessini is an ideal choice, because it adds a mineral note to the acidity. Red wine is best avoided: with cuttlefish ink, the tannin leaves a metallic aftertaste.
