Everything is better with bacon… except possibly this ultra-creamy carbonara. Instead of relying on the usual salted, cured pig product as the foundation of the sauce, this version swaps in bottarga, a salted, cured fish roe, which gives the same intensity of flavor, but with a piscine rather than porcine goodness.
If you've never met bottarga, but are a fan of pungent, funky delicacies (caviar, truffles, dry-cured ham), you'll probably adore it; the roe has a deep, briny richness, and the slow salt cure gives it complexity. Traditionally from Italy, there you'll often find it grated over platters of pasta dressed with little more than butter—nothing to distract you from the pure ocean flavor of the roe. This recipe adds egg yolks and cheese to up the creaminess factor, and a touch of mint for freshness, but still lets the bottarga flavor shine bright.
A piece of bottarga will last for months in the fridge (keep it well wrapped so it doesn't dry out). Mullet bottarga is generally considered to be mellower and sweeter than tuna bottarga, which can be bitter, but both will work here. If your bottarga has a thick waxy layer covering the surface, be sure to scrape it off with a paring knife (or peel it off with your fingers) before grating.
Try it once and soon you'll be saying "everything is better with bottarga." Who knows? Maybe a new craze will sweep the nation… though it might be a while before America is ready for bottarga cupcakes.
Spaghetti Carbonara with Mullet Bottarga
Serves 4 to 6
1 pound spaghetti
4 egg yolks
¼ teaspoon black pepper, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 anchovy filets
¼ cup coarsely grated Parmesan
Mullet bottarga, for serving
Fresh lemon juice, for serving
Torn mint leaves, optional
1. Fill a large pot with water and generously salt it when the water comes to a boil (use several tablespoons, the water should taste as salty as the sea.) Add spaghetti and cook 2 minutes less than package instructions; it should be slightly more al dente than you’d want to eat it. Drain pasta.
2. In a medium bowl stir together the egg yolks and the pepper.
3. While the pasta cooks, set a large sauté pan (12 to 14 inches is ideal) over medium heat. Add the oil and warm until shimmering. Add the garlic and the anchovy and cook until the anchovy dissolves, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the drained pasta to the pan along with 2 tablespoons of water and toss everything together until the water evaporates. Remove from heat, stir in the yolk mixture and Parmesan and mix vigorously to combine.
4. Divide pasta among the bowls. Generously grate botarga on top (the more the merrier), grind on some black pepper, and top with a drizzle of your best olive oil, and a squirt of fresh lemon juice. Top with fresh torn mint leaves.
Etc…. Even More Terrific Ways to Use Bottarga
- Surf and Turf: Make potato salad with an olive oil and lemon juice dressing and grate bottarga liberally on top. Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Bottarga Risotto: Cook a plain risotto with chicken stock and plenty of butter, then stir the bottarga into the rice off the heat. Garnish with parsley or mint.
- Eggs 'n' Eggs: Grate plenty of bottaga on top of scrambled or fried eggs. Or use bottarga to garnish egg salad.
- Bagels, Bottarga, and Lox: Zip up your standard bagels and lox brunch with grated bottarga on top.
- BLT: Substitute bottarga for bacon in a BLT sandwich, and use butter in place of mayo for anointing the toast. Only try this with ultra-ripe tomatoes and don't stint on the bottarga.
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