Spaghetti with Bottarga

This simple pasta is based on a recipe in Mario Batali's Molto Mario.  I've turned down the volume on the heat so that the bottarga stands out more.  I've also added a small amount of good canned tomatoes to suggest a little acid to counter the roe's salty high notes.

If you like this recipe but would like to try a different version of it, I've added below a link to another of Batali's bottarga pasta recipes, this with tomato sauce and bread crumbs.  

Serves 4

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (adjust this to your liking but remember how much punch is in each flake)
• 2 large or 3 small cloves garlic, sliced very thin
• 1 14-oz. can Italian peeled San Marzano tomatoes (only the tomatoes; none of the liquid) cut into large (1") dice.  Or, 1 14-oz. can good quality cherry tomatoes, again drained of the liquid, with each little tomato cut in half  (La Valle is an excellent brand that can be found in many grocers)
• 1 pound spaghetti or spaghettini (use dried pasta for this, not fresh)
• 1/4 cup rough chopped flat leaf parsley
• 2 oz. piece of tuna or mullet bottarga (a single piece that you will grate, not the pre-grated powder)

Add no salt or pepper due to the saltiness of the bottarga and the heat from the red pepper flakes

1. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot or your pasta pot.  Add 2 tablespoons of salt (heavily salted pasta water helps to add flavor without making the dish salty).
2. In a large sauté or fry pan, combine the olive oil, red pepper flakes and garlic.  Heat over low heat until the garlic is fragrant but not brown.
3. Add the tomatoes and continue cooking over a low heat for about 3 minutes so to take away any raw flavor from the tomatoes but not so long that they begin to break apart.
4. Remove from the heat.
5. Cook the spaghetti or spaghettini until it is just al dente.  Save about 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
6. Drain the pasta well and immediately add it to the oil/garlic/red pepper/tomato mixture.  Add the parsley.  Toss to coat the strands of spaghetti.
7. If strands are sticking together and you need to loosen or help the ingredients combine together, do not add more oil.  Instead add some or all of the reserved pasta water.
8. Transfer the spaghetti to a warmed serving bowl.
9. Use a microplane rasper or fine cheese grater to grate the bottarga over the pasta.  Toss to combine.

Serve immediately.

 

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