Chipirones à l'encre
Petits calamars mijotés dans une sauce noire et profonde à base d'oignons et de leur propre encre, servis avec du riz blanc.
Portions
Ingrédients
Nutrition
Par portion
Étapes
Clean the squid
Pull the head and tentacles away from the body. Cut the tentacles just below the eyes, discarding the beak hidden among them. Reach inside the body and pull out the thin, clear cartilage (the pluma) and any innards, keeping aside the small silvery ink sac near the eyes without breaking it; set the sacs in a small bowl with a splash of water. Rinse the bodies and tentacles well and leave whole or cut the bodies into rings.
- 800 g baby squid, cleaned, ink sacs reserved
✅ C'est prêt quand : the squid bodies are hollow, clean and free of cartilage, with the ink sacs safely set aside
Build a deep sofrito
Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy pot over low heat. Add the onion, green pepper and garlic with a pinch of salt and cook very slowly, stirring often, for 20–25 minutes until deeply golden and almost jammy. This long, patient cooking is what gives the sauce its sweetness, so do not rush it or let it brown too fast.
- 2 large onions
- 1 green bell pepper
- 3 cloves garlic
- 60 ml olive oil
✅ C'est prêt quand : the onion is soft, sweet and a deep golden-brown, with no raw bite left
Add tomato and wine
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Make the ink sauce
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Simmer the squid gently
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Finish and serve
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Clean the squid
Pull the head and tentacles away from the body. Cut the tentacles just below the eyes, discarding the beak hidden among them. Reach inside the body and pull out the thin, clear cartilage (the pluma) and any innards, keeping aside the small silvery ink sac near the eyes without breaking it; set the sacs in a small bowl with a splash of water. Rinse the bodies and tentacles well and leave whole or cut the bodies into rings.
- 800 g baby squid, cleaned, ink sacs reserved
✅ C'est prêt quand : the squid bodies are hollow, clean and free of cartilage, with the ink sacs safely set aside
Build a deep sofrito
Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy pot over low heat. Add the onion, green pepper and garlic with a pinch of salt and cook very slowly, stirring often, for 20–25 minutes until deeply golden and almost jammy. This long, patient cooking is what gives the sauce its sweetness, so do not rush it or let it brown too fast.
- 2 large onions
- 1 green bell pepper
- 3 cloves garlic
- 60 ml olive oil
✅ C'est prêt quand : the onion is soft, sweet and a deep golden-brown, with no raw bite left
Add tomato and wine
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Make the ink sauce
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Simmer the squid gently
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Finish and serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
Chipirones en su tinta is a signature dish of Basque and Cantabrian cooking, born in fishing towns where small squid were caught close to shore and nothing from them went to waste, including the ink. The dark, savoury sauce built from slowly cooked onion and the squid's own ink became a point of pride, served in homes and in the pintxo bars of San Sebastián and Bilbao alike.
It later spread across Spain as a classic restaurant dish, often appearing on menus simply as "chipirones" and almost always paired with white rice to balance the richness of the sauce.
⭐ Why It's Famous
Its jet-black, glossy sauce and the tenderness of the squid when cooked properly make it one of the most memorable seafood dishes in Spanish cooking.
💡 Fun Fact
The ink is a natural defence the squid uses to escape predators underwater, and cooks learned to turn it into one of the most prized sauces in Spanish cuisine.
Basque Country, northern Spain
43.32°N, -1.98°W
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