Recipe: Botarga and Pasta

This is truly a spectacular dish when done right, and it can be prepared in just a few minutes.

I always purchase bottarga – pressed and preserved fish roe – in a wax-covered piece and grate it myself.

Botarga has a unique flavor that is a little similar to anchovies but far more delicate. Grey mullet bottarga has a mild flavor, while tuna botarga is more assertive and easily available. It’s a real treasure of the sea.

A classic pairing is spaghetti in any dish that calls for fish or seafood with pasta. But you could also use bowties (farfalle) or bucatini.

Botarga is known by a number of name variations across the world, such as Boutargue or Poutargue in France, Karasumi in Japan, Avgotaraho in Greece, and Butarda in Croatia. In some regions of France like Provence, it’s called Botarga or Boutargo. Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria refer to it as Boutharkha or Bitarhika. In Egypt, it’s pronounced Batarekh.

Toss hot pasta in a bowl with grated bottarga and the best quality extra virgin olive oil you can find. Toss until the pasta is coated and takes on a rich orange hue. Rub the inside of the bowl with raw garlic to add just a hint of garlic taste.

I got my recipe in Sicily during a press trip after a lunch of botarga, clams, and pasta at a very traditional trattoria in Palermo.

Ingredients for 4 persons:

1 lb. dry Spaghetti

1 large clove of garlic, halved

Extra virgin olive oil

150 gr. Bottarga (grey mullet is preferred, but tuna will also do)

1 lemon

1 oz. butter

1 oz. Parmigiano Reggiano

Cilantro (optional)

Salt and Malabar Black Pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Cook your spaghetti al dente in salted water.
2. While the spaghetti is cooking, rub the inside surface of a salad bowl with the cut sides of the garlic. Apply enough pressure so the garlic juices stick to the sides of the bowl. If you want a more assertive garlic flavor, press the spent half-cloves in a garlic press, and place the garlic pulp at the bottom of the bowl. (Discard the halved garlic clove if you haven’t pressed it.)
3. Add the olive oil, then the grated bottarga to the bowl. Mix until you form a kind of creamy orange-colored paste that you can spread over the bottom and sides of the bowl.
4. Add some lemon juice to the paste and set the bowl aside.
5. When the spaghetti is cooked, drain it, but reserve some of the starchy pasta water, and pour the pasta into the bowl.
6. Mix everything together.
7. If the pasta looks too dry, add some more olive oil and/or pasta water.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Melt the butter, and pour it on the pasta.
10. Serve immediately, sprinkled with Parmigiano Reggiano and a small amount of chopped cilantro (optional) and with extra grated bottarga on top.

Enjoy!