Paella Negra

"Paella Negra." I have not heard about this until it was introduced to me by Best friend Ep when we were once on a text chat. Actually, I just ignored it because I thought this kind of food does not really exist. I didn't even care to search it on the web!

Michael: So what are you cooking right now?

Best friend Ep: Paella Negra.

Michael: Wehh

For me, this is not so convincing because in the first place, she does not really know how to cook very well so how come she knew this dish?

Until she brought me to this place today at Salcedo Market at Barangay Bel-Air in Makati. We went here for a quick brunch before going to the Bakery Fair.

There I found out that this 'legendary' Paella Negra is not just a newly-coined word from her but it's actually a real dish!

A regular serving costs P280 at Margarita's

Here's a brief background about this Spanish cuisine (Finally I did a little research now):

As what I expected, Paella Negra has really a dark appearance and that's because of the squid ink being mixed. I wonder how many squids need to die to extract much ink to cook such a huge serving like this!

Aside from the Paella's unique squidy taste, I also like the soft texture of the steamed, seasoned and stir-fried calasparra rice with the real seafood taste and texture of big pieces of shrimps and oysters. It's so mouth-watering and delicious that you might already forget the yummiest rice dish that you have ever tasted in your entire life!

If you want to try cooking it for yourself, here's a quick recipe for Paella Negra:

How to Cook Paella Negra

Enjoy!