Sicilian Spaghetti with Bottarga di Tonno
by meike peters
Marzamemi! This is the name of a picturesque fishing village in southern Sicily in the Syracuse region. It’s right by the sea, with two churches – an old and a new one – both dedicated to the village’s patron San Franceso built around the historic piazza which is, as in every Mediterranean village, the lively centre especially at night.
Two years ago we spent an evening in Marzamemi, strolled through the narrow alleys, between the old limestone houses where fishermen used to live. We passed a beautiful artisan market which was still open at night and enjoyed the sight of all the restaurants which had placed their long tables outside in the piazza where families already filled the air with laughter and the delicious smell of seafood. We couldn’t wait any longer to join them and went straight to the restaurant at the sea where our table was waiting for us, but as we wanted to sit down we spotted an old storehouse with a big, open gate and people walking in and out. Curiosity was still stronger than our appetite, so we took a look.
We went inside a huge hall piled high with fish products, mainly made of bluefin tuna but also anchovies, sardines, mackerel, and swordfish. I discovered food I had never seen before, tuna salami for example, I had to buy it! It tasted interesting, salty, something I would have to eat a few times and try out a few combinations to get used to it. They also sold the famous Bottarga di Tonno, the dried roe pouch of bluefin tuna. If it’s in one piece, you slice it thinly over spaghetti, grated you sprinkle it over a quick pasta dish. Its taste is distinct and salty, it comes from a fish with a strong flavour and you can taste it!
I haven’t eaten it since my last visit to Sicily so I was happy to finally open a jar of grated Bottarga di Tonno again and mix it with my pasta. I like to add some lemon (juice and zest), garlic, parsley and coarsely crushed black pepper.
Spaghetti with Bottarga di Tonno, Lemon and Parsley
For this meal I suggest you warm up the plates in the oven.
For 2 people you need
(the amounts are matched to taste, just play around and season to your own taste)
spaghetti 200g / 7 ounces
olive oil 6 tablespoons
garlic, cut in half, 2 cloves
grated Bottarga di Tonno 4-6 heaped teaspoons
freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tablespoon
lemon zest 2 teaspoon
parsley, chopped, 4 heaped tablespoons
salt and coarsely crushed black pepper
Cook the pasta in lots of salted water till al dente.
Heat up the oil in a sauce pan, add the garlic and take the pan off the heat, let it infuse the oil for a couple minutes and add the lemon juice.
After the pasta is mixed with the warm oil and divided between the plates, sprinkle with parsley, lemon zest, pepper and salt and add the bottarga di tonno to taste.
[…] The shelves around us presented a tempting selection of chiantis, pasta, polenta, capers, and bottarga. The counter right in front of us was filled with various prosciuttos, salami, ciabatta sandwiches, […]
i am constantly grating all types of preserved roe all over everything, mashing both the dried or fresh versions into all things possible, and pretty much dreaming of the stuff in between. one of my most yummy creations was making some compound butter with the roe and then adding a bit of that to some oysters on the grill. my second crazy successful moment was when i added it to some bread dough. my third mind melting tummy dance was when i used it as a flatbread pizza add-on. the absolute coolest was something i did two years back that made my food geek ego explode into a psychedelic rockstar badass rainbow… i caught and preserved my own roe. this happened when i drove across the entire length of the usa to eat and hike and fish and do nothing but absorb all things new to me and my four-legged boy. i used it on so many things while camping on my way back home. it was food freak epic. thanks for letting me brag and share myself with you via your post, meike 🙂
Wow, now you’re inspiring me again! I love the roe butter idea, and the bread, and the pizza … I’d love to catch my own fish, whenever I give it a try when we’re in Malta, I’m not very successful though 🙂 Thank you for sharing your kitchen stories with me!
Oh, that sounds very interesting. I love pasta…wonder if I could find the tuna roe any place nearby.
Me too, I could have pasta every day, we eat it at least once or twice a week. You may have to order the tuna roe online, in some places it’s hard to find. My aunt gave me the jar of grated bottarga as she knows that I like it a lot. Have a nice day Marigene! Meike xx