I love bottarga and try to add it to as many dishes as possible. Today we will see the recipe for my garlic, oil, chili pepper, and bottarga pasta, which is a variant of the classic garlic, oil, and chili made noble and flavorful by bottarga.
If you like variations, don’t forget to also read the recipes:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 2 Minutes
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 387.65 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 26.39 (g) of which sugars 0.51 (g)
- Proteins 7.18 (g)
- Fat 29.41 (g) of which saturated 4.29 (g)of which unsaturated 0.81 (g)
- Fibers 1.57 (g)
- Sodium 195.62 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 125 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 2 people:
- 5.6 oz pasta
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 1 to taste chili pepper
- to taste tuna bottarga
Tools:
- 1 Pot ( capacity of 3 quarts)
- 1 Pan 10 inches
Preparation
For a good bottarga dish, I recommend always starting with whole bottarga, as pre-grated bottarga has inferior quality, less taste, and less aroma.
The pasta is prepared like a regular garlic, oil, and chili pasta by following the steps found here.
Fill the pot with 2-3 quarts of water and bring it to a boil. At this point, you need to focus on the seasoning, which is the important part.
For a fragrant pasta, I recommend using garlic in pieces without the germ or crushed with the skin (in its jacket).
Take the pan with the oil and a pinch of freshly ground pepper (to understand when the oil is reaching temperature) and it’s time to add the garlic. The oil should completely envelop the garlic, creating a true infusion.
When you smell the aroma of garlic coming from the pan, it’s time to add the chili. If you have fresh chili, chop it very finely and leave it to infuse in the hot oil as well.
The thing you should never do is burn the garlic; to avoid issues, I heat the pan over the small burner, so I always have the oil under control.
Drain the pasta al dente 2 minutes less than the cooking time on the box but completely, leaving it wet and keeping some cooking water aside… here’s why.
Put the pasta in the pan and start mixing it so that the oil and breadcrumbs blend and flavor.
Turn on the heat; the cooking needs to be completed in the pan, and to prevent the pasta from sticking, use the reserved cooking water.
You need to toss the pasta in the pan for a couple of minutes so that the oil flavors the pasta well, making sure to “wet” it with the cooking water.
Grate the bottarga directly onto the plate where you will serve the pasta, pour the spaghetti, and mix it directly there so that the viscosity of the spaghetti and the heat of the oil melt the bottarga and make it creamy.
Your garlic, oil, chili pepper, and bottarga pasta is ready!
Presentation Tips:
Garlic, oil, chili pepper, and bottarga pasta is a simple dish made noble by a precious ingredient like bottarga. I recommend making the presentation elegant by using a flat plate and creating a nest or gently placing the pasta curled on itself as in the photo.
Wine Pairing for Garlic, Oil, Chili Pepper, and Bottarga Pasta:
The recommended wine is a Vermentino di Gallura, a full-bodied and decisive wine that pairs well with the bottarga, especially if enhanced by the addition of chili pepper.
