À l’Encre is a French expression that means literally “with ink.” The ink is from the ink pouches of a cuttlefish, octopus or squid.
When the term is applied to pasta, it means Black Pasta.
Risotto à l’encre (Risotto negro in Italian) is Risotto with squid (or cuttlefish or octopus) ink in it.
Language Notes
In Italian the term is “al nero” (“nero” means “black”.)