Mullet bottarga spaghetti is a quick and tasty first course, which if you’ve been to Sardinia you’ve surely enjoyed in many variations. The most typical one combines bottarga spaghetti with arselle, a kind of small tasty clams that are commonly called telline in other parts of the country. But even without adding anything else, bottarga spaghetti is a flavorful and appetizing dish, also ideal for a last-minute spaghetti dinner: garlic, oil, chili pepper, and some cherry tomatoes are the few simple ingredients that make bottarga spaghetti an easy fish first course with a great effect.
The mullet bottarga is a product that can be found almost everywhere in Sardinia, but it’s also easy to find elsewhere in Italy, in large supermarkets and fishmongers. The bottarga should not be cooked, but added to the spaghetti at the end of cooking, finely grated: for this purpose, it is sometimes sold already grated and packed in small jars; while this is a very practical solution, it must be said that mullet bottarga purchased whole (generally vacuum-packed) and grated at the moment is certainly preferable because it retains all its characteristics until consumed. Bottarga spaghetti is a perfect first course for a dinner with friends, ideal to enjoy in summer but also throughout the rest of the year, to recall the scents and flavors of the sea.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Region: Sardinia
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 304.20 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 37.15 (g) of which sugars 8.46 (g)
- Proteins 8.10 (g)
- Fat 13.91 (g) of which saturated 1.84 (g)of which unsaturated 0.46 (g)
- Fibers 2.72 (g)
- Sodium 333.89 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 300 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for mullet bottarga pasta
- 14 oz spaghetti (for me gluten-free)
- 12 oz cherry tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic
- 5 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 1 hot chili pepper
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tbsps mullet bottarga (grated)
- 1 bunch parsley
Tools
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Pot
- 1 Pan non-stick pasta pan
- 1 Grater
How to prepare mullet bottarga pasta
To prepare the spaghetti with bottarga, start by washing the cherry tomatoes well; cut them in half (1). In a large pan, put the peeled garlic and chopped chili pepper in the oil (2) and turn the heat on to medium flame.
When it starts to sizzle, tilt the pan to one side so that the garlic is entirely covered by the oil (3) and let it brown for a minute or two. This way it will color without burning and will release all its flavor.
Then add the cherry tomatoes (4), a pinch of salt, and let cook over moderate heat for a couple of minutes. Then raise the heat and tilt the pan again as before (5), so that the cherry tomatoes are also immersed in the oil.
Cook this way for about a minute, then return the pan to its normal position, remove the garlic, and slightly crush the cherry tomatoes with a spoon (6).
Let cook for another 5 minutes over medium heat, then turn off the heat (7). Boil the spaghetti in plenty of salted water, drain them very al dente, and transfer them to the pan (8). Toss them for a minute or two with a bit of their cooking water (9).
When they have absorbed the sauce well, turn off the heat and add the chopped parsley (10) and one of the two teaspoons of grated bottarga (11).
Mix the bottarga spaghetti and divide them onto individual plates. Garnish them with more chopped parsley and a sprinkle of grated bottarga (12). Serve the bottarga spaghetti immediately.
How long does bottarga keep
Vacuum-packed bottarga, once opened, should be stored in the refrigerator well wrapped in plastic wrap. This way it keeps for about twenty days. If you purchase the grated one in a jar, follow the instructions on the package.
Tips and Variations
If you don’t like spicy flavors, you can omit the chili pepper. For an even quicker and simpler version of bottarga spaghetti, you can omit the cherry tomatoes and prepare a simple garlic, oil, and chili pepper sauce, garnished with grated bottarga once plated.
How do you use bottarga?
Bottarga is a very versatile ingredient, capable of adding saltiness and a pleasantly “sea” note to many preparations. Naturally, the most classic combination is with fish: you can grate it on spaghetti with clams, on seafood salad, on raw fish, on a tuna or smoked swordfish carpaccio, or even to give a kick to simple hard-boiled eggs.
