Bottarga

[Stone]

I just got a small jar. Powdered, not brick.

What do I use it with? The one time I had botarga, it was sprinkled over a pasta dish. I think it was pappardelle with a ragu.

[slkinsey]

It is mostly used in pasta dishes, in my experience.

I find it strange that you say you had it with pappardelle (a fresh pasta) and ragù (which usually, but not always, designates a dish made with meat).

Bottarga is the compressed, salted and dried roe of either grey mullet (bottarga di muggine, usually from Sardenia, and the best) or tuna (bottarga di tonno, usually from Sicilia, and also very good). Most often it is served grated onto very simply dressed pasta asciutta. A good example might be the maccheroni alla chitarra (the dry kind rather than the fresh kind) with oven dried tomatoes, red chiles and bottarga di muggine served at Babbo or, for a more elemental presentation, a simple dish of spahgetti with great raw evoo and a heavy shaving of bottarga. For a new-world presentation, Otto, I think, offers a pizza with tomato, mozzarella, pecorino, raw fennel and bottarga.

[docsconz]

I'll warn you that bottarga is an acquired taste.

[Stone]

It is mostly used in pasta dishes, in my experience.

I find it strange that you say you had it with pappardelle (a fresh pasta) and ragù (which usually, but not always, designates a dish made with meat).

It's been a long time, I could be mistaken.

[Adam Balic]

I'm afraid that the powdered form can taste a little like freeze dried fish food. I have eaten it by the slice with some port (trying to recreate some Olde English drunkeness), and also with pasta. Cook spaghetti/linguine etc, make a bread crumb dressing with chilli, garlic and lemon zest, mix through pasta, add Bottarga and some parsley. Have plenty of chilled white wine on hand.

[twodogs]

try it in ceasar dressing.

use as a seasoning on seared meats or fish.

flavor a beurre blanc made with vermouth and use as a sauce for fish

season steak or fish tartare with it.

cheers

Edited December 27, 2003 by twodogs (log)