The dish that stains your shirt, in our collection of baby squid in their own ink

Few tins have such deep roots as this one. Baby squid in their own ink, chipirones en su tinta, is one of those dishes everyone in Spain has eaten at home, and in a tin it arrives already stewed and ready to heat. In this selection we have gathered the best versions from the Galician Rías and the Cantabrian coast, with baby squid cleaned by hand, piece by piece.

Chipirón, txipirón, jibión or squid

They are different names for the same thing or for very close relatives, and it is worth clarifying. The chipirón is the small squid, caught young, with more tender and delicate flesh. Txipirón is its name in the Basque Country and jibión what it is called in some parts of the north. Puntillitas are the tiny ones, eaten whole. The smaller the piece, the more tender and more prized.

What real ink is

The ink is not a colouring: it is what the cephalopod itself produces as a defence. In a well-made tin it is used together with a sofrito of onion, garlic, tomato and sometimes wine, and it brings that deep, slightly bitter, sea flavour that nothing else can achieve. If the sauce tastes flat or only of tomato, something is missing.

Choose your preparation

• In their ink: the classic, with the full stew. Eaten with a spoon and bread, and even better if you warm it for a few seconds in a pan.
• In olive oil: baby squid without sauce, to appreciate the flesh and texture. Also for adding to a rice dish or a salad.
• Stuffed and Galician style: with a paprika sofrito, in the northern tradition.
• Puntillitas: the smallest pieces, tender and eaten in a single bite.

Before serving

At least at room temperature, and better warmed: two minutes in a pan over a low heat awaken the ink and the sofrito. With white bread for dipping, which is half the dish, and a light red or a cold beer. If any sauce is left over, keep it: it is the perfect base for a black rice.

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