Bottarga is the Italian name for mullet or tuna roe. The process is traditional: the fish roe is washed, put in salt for a time that varies according to its weight and characteristics -a sea mullet is not the same as a lagoon mullet, for example-, they are pressed and then dried for a few days. . They are sold whole, vacuum packed, and keep in the fridge for a long time.
The bottarga The best known is that of Sardinia, although it is also produced in Sicily and in other areas of the Mediterranean, including the Spanish coast. In fact, the one I used for today’s recipe is from Salted Diegoa company from Murcia: having good handcrafted products nearby, it seemed unnecessary to resort to a bottarga imported. The price of the Spanish product is also more affordable, which is appreciated since it is not a cheap product. To give you an idea, the amount of mullet roe needed for today’s recipe is around seven euros: it’s a lot for an everyday dish, but not so much for a special dinner. How much does a quality burrata cost? Well that.
For this recipe it is better to use mullet roe: the ling roe has a too strong flavor, and the texture of the tuna roe is too dry. Of course you can experiment and tune the recipe with the roe you prefer, but I do not guarantee that the result will be the same. The same goes for the bottarga that is already grated, dried, in a jar: its flavor is light years away from the fresh one, and the texture has nothing to do with it.
The trick of this recipe is to achieve a creamy texture: once we have grated the roe, mix it with a little olive oil and hot (not boiling) water. In this way they will soften, but the creamy texture will come when mixed with the hot, freshly drained pasta. We will also add a little cooking water, as the pasta asks for it: it is difficult to give exact amounts, but in the recipe I try to explain it as best as possible. At the end we will have some spaghetti smeared with cream bottargaPairing: The mouthfeel is very similar to that of a carbonara.
A couple of extras can be added to the base recipe that I propose below. If we want a spicy touch we can add a chilli pepper to the golden garlic: almost a aglio e pepperoncinoto which is then added the bottarga. To get a fresh note we can finish the dish with a little lemon zest. In this case, the ideal is to do it on the same plate, at the moment, almost as if it were a cheese.
Difficulty
It’s easier than typing bottarga.
Ingredients
for 4 people
- 500g of pasta
- extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 100 g of mullet roe (bottarga)
Preparation
-
Boil the water for the pasta, in a tall and wide pot.
-
In a saucepan, heat a finger of extra virgin olive oil and gently brown the whole garlic cloves; they have to be more candied than golden.
-
When the water boils add the salt -the proportion is approximately eight grams per liter of water- and then the pasta.
-
While the water is boiling and the pasta is cooking, prepare the bottarga. Remove the outer skin and grate it finely.
-
put the bottarga grated in a deep plate with two tablespoons of olive oil and two tablespoons of hot water. Mix with a spoon, squeezing a little, so that it amalgamates and dissolves with the oil and water.
-
put the sauce on bottarga in the serving dish along with a couple of tablespoons of the oil in which the garlic has been preserved.
-
Before draining the pasta (al dente!), save a cup of the cooking water.
-
Mix the pasta with the sauce bottargaadding tablespoons of the cooking water so that it breaks down and emulsifies the bottarga. In total, between three and five tablespoons will be necessary: add one, mix well and when you see that it has been incorporated – it will be partly absorbed by the pasta and partly emulsified with the bottarga – add the next.
-
The pasta should be creamy and although it is best eaten hot freshly prepared, it holds up surprisingly well when cold.
If you make this recipe, share the result on your social networks with the hashtag #RecipesComidista. And if it goes wrong, complain to the Cook Ombudsman by sending an email to [email protected].
#Pasta #bottarga