Pasta con la Bottarga

Before you start to tell us that you don’t like fishy flavors, hear us out: we have served this dish to people who didn’t even realize they were eating fish. This pasta dish is a true marriage of Mediterranean flavors and it’s the bottarga that brings them all together, with its umami flavor. So umami.

Nota bene: you can make it now and eat it later! One reason we love this recipe and use it as a go-to dish for guests is because you can stop after step 2, put it in the fridge, and start with step 3 the next day. Just make sure to let the sauce return to room temperature.

 

Ingredients

SERVES: 4-5 people
TIME: 30 minutes

1 bag Spaghetti or Linguine Faella (500 gr/1.1 lbs)
1/2 Whole Mullet Bottarga (60gr/2 oz)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Sardegna, 6 tablespoons
Rinds of 2 lemons, zested
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup of finely chopped parsley
Chili peppers, 1 teaspoon or to taste
Salted Capers, rinsed (25 gr/0.8 oz), optional
Sea salt

Preparation

  1. Peel away the outer layer and finely grate the bottarga.
  2. In a serving bowl, mix bottarga, EVOO, capers, and lemon juice + zest,  garlic, parsley, and chili pepper.
  3. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente (approx. 8 minutes).
  4. Drain the pasta,  saving 1/2 cup of pasta water.
  5. Put the pasta inside the serving bowl and stir all the ingredients together.  To increase the creaminess, pour (one teaspoon at a time) some pasta water and a splash of EVOO and continue stirring.
  6. Serve immediately and finish by grating more Bottarga on each plate.
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