Black Pasta with Shrimp and Soppressata

First, I made black pasta, which is just regular pasta with squid ink. It tastes more complex, and looks a heck of a lot cooler than regular pasta.

I put this on the 2nd thinnest setting, which meant that it would take 6 minutes to cook instead of 2. But that's okay. It was going to be chewier and more robust for my sauce, which was pureed jalapeño, red onions, cashews, olive oil, and salt.

While I was boiling the pasta, I sautéed some shrimp, soppressata, and thinly sliced garlic for my pasta topping.

Look at that! It takes around the same time for the garlic to become fragrant, the soppressata to harden a little on the edges, and for the shrimp to be perfectly cooked through. This is fitting for the chef who came up with this recipe - who is lazy at heart and is a closet ignoramus - but still one of the best Italian chefs around.

I picked up this funky pretzel baguette. It was very good! It was moist and good for scooping up the leftover sauce from the pasta.