Today is the best day of the year! That’s right: Halloween. The spookiest of the spooky. I’ve always loved this holiday and honestly have come to love it more the older I have gotten. In honor of today and one of my favorite cooking ladies, Holly, I decided to vamp up a pantry staple recipe that my mom made often as a kid: arroz con calamares. My dad loves this dish, so my mom would make it anytime she was able to find tinned calamari in the grocery store. Growing up, we always called this dish arroz negro, which translates to black rice thanks to the squid ink darkening the dish when cooked.

The method is the same from the other rice dishes on this post but I wanted to keep this one separate since it has the addition of squid ink and uses a different kind of rice grain (plus, it’s spooky looking!). Traditionally, I grew up eating this dish using tinned calamari that came with its own ink, which ends up turning white rice into a very dark brownish color since there isn’t much ink used (the cans are pretty small). Because I wanted to use cuttlefish ink to get this rice really black, I opted for the plain tinned calamari instead. I also added a can of tuna to the rice since I was making a little extra for the household and I love tuna rice, but it’s definitely optional. Don’t let tinned seafood scare y’all, it’s always a relatively healthy and adaptable thing to keep in your pantry for easy dinners like this one. Let’s get some spooky cooking done!

Arroz con Calamares (Rice with Calamari)

Cook time: 40 minutes

Serves: 4-6

2 4oz tinned jumbo squid in sunflower and olive oil, drain but reserve oil from one can

1 5oz can tuna in water, drained (optional)

3 tbsp fresh sofrito

3 tsp cuttlefish ink (see note)

1 cup heirloom forbidden rice (see note)

2 cups seafood stock or water

Sazón spice blend, to taste

Adobo spice blend, to taste

Lemon wedges, for serving

Old Bay hot sauce, for serving

Note: you can find both cuttlefish ink and forbidden rice in speciality food markets or online. I ordered mine online because pandemic but once you open the cuttlefish ink, make sure to store it in the fridge. The ink doesn’t taste fishy per se, but it does taste of the ocean; the brand I used tasted very briney so be mindful of that when it comes to seasoning the rice. Forbidden rice is a little firmer in texture than plain white rice and nuttier in flavor. I thought it was delicious with the calamari since it has a nice bite to it.

In a medium pot and over medium heat, add the reserved oil from one of the calamari tins to sauté the sofrito until it’s fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Then, add the drained calamari pieces (and the drained tuna if you like) and combine with the sofrito. Cook the tinned calamari until slightly warmed through and then add the cuttlefish ink, stirring well.

Cook the squid and ink mixture for about 3 minutes and then add the forbidden rice, folding it in to make sure all of the rice grains are coated with the ink mixture. Then, add the seafood stock or water, then adjust the seasoning with the sazón and adobo spice blends. Keep in mind, cuttlefish ink varies in salinity based on which brand you get, so adjust your seasonings to your liking. Then, turn the heat up to medium-high to bring to a boil. This part is fun because your pot is literally going to look like a bubbling cauldron, haha!

Once most of the water has evaporated and you see little steam pockets, turn the heat down to low, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid, and then finish cooking the rice for at least 30 minutes (depending on the brand of forbidden rice you get, follow the package instructions for cook times). Fluff the rice with a fork once tender and immediately serve with lemon wedges and your favorite hot sauce.

¡Buen provecho!