Spaghetti alla Bottarga
If food were currency, Bottarga would be as good as gold. Bottarga in Italian, Boutargue in French or Karasumi in Japanese, is the roe sac of grey mullet that has been salted, dried, pressed and dipped in beewax for preservation. It ends up looking like a flat-sided wax sausage. When shopping for bottarga look for the gold color kind, it’s the best quality.
A specialty of Sardinia and popular all over Italy, the Mediterranean and Japan, bottarga is the weapon of choice for chefs who want to pack a maximum of briny flavor into an innocent plate of pasta. You can think of it as the oceanic equivalent of really good parmesan with a rich salty/buttery taste and a luxurious mouth-feel. Simply put.. it’s good, it’s really good. It’s a versatile ingredient that will take many casual foods for a joy ride – I have seen it shaved or grated over boiled potatoes, beans and even scrambled eggs.
The process of making Bottarga goes back to ancient Egypt and has been kept alive by Sardinian fishermen over centuries. Bottarga is imported from Italy and Japan and can be expensive – around $15 an ounce, but it has a shelf life of over 6 months in the fridge as long as the wax seal is not broken, use it within a week after the seal is broken.
This is one of the easiest and tastiest pasta that I know. Start by heating some good olive oil, garlic and chili flakes in a pan. Add some grated bottarga until it sizzles and turn off the heat. Toss the pasta and finish with parsley, lemon zest and some more grated bottarga. Easy!
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Spaghetti alla Bottarga
- Serves 4
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Spaghetti alla Bottarga:
- 1 lb spaghetti
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, finely sliced
- 1 teaspoon (or to taste) chili flakes
- 3 to 4 ounces bottarga, grated on a microplane
- 1/3 cup Italian parsley, chopped
- grated zest of 1 lemon
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Spaghetti alla Bottarga:
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti al dente (Don’t salt the pasta water as much as you normally would. Bottarga is salty.)
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat the olive oil, add the sliced garlic and the chili flakes. When the garlic starts getting golden add half of the grated bottarga and let it sizzle in the olive oil. Turn off the heat immediately.
- Drain and add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss with the parsley. Divide the pasta among 4 plates and top with the remaining bottarga and lemon zest. Serve right away.
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