Spaghetti alla bottarga is a Mediterranean pasta dish for caviar lovers. And like any caviar, bottarga can be an acquired taste. While bottarga has been around in the Mediterranean forever, and it’s flavor is familiar, it’s been less available to the American palate.
Bottarga is often called Mediterranean caviar or Sardinian caviar. While the name caviar commonly refers to salted roe (eggs) of fish removed from their sac (most commonly sturgeon and salmon) the term bottarga refers to salted roe left in their sac, then pressed and dried.
Bottarga tastes of the sea, with a rich marine umami flavor somewhat akin to anchovy, and a hint of bitter almond aftertaste. It can be presented as bold and intense or subtle, delicate and creamy, depending on how it’s prepared. Bottarga pasta, with thinly sliced or finely grated bottarga, is a great way to appreciate the unique taste of this saline delicacy.
A Summer Italian Favorite
One of the most requested pasta dishes in the summer on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia — where bottarga is famous — is pasta covered in a marea (sea) of grated bottarga. It’s the go-to pasta after a day at the beach. Often served with olive oil and garlic or alle vongole (called arselle in some parts of Sardinia), with clams, it is frequently accompanied by a nice cold glass of vermentino di Gallura, the excellent white wine from Sardinia. Just about every restaurant from Costa Smeralda to Costa Rei has bottarga pasta on the menu, but it’s cooked every bit as much in residential and vacation homes throughout the island.
About this Recipe
Everyone has their own take on what is always a very simple recipe. Having tried pasta with bottarga in many ways, I usually go back to preparing it as an extension of one of the most basic and loved pasta dishes of Italy: aglio, olio e peperoncino. Pasta with garlic, olive oil and a touch of crushed red pepper is a long established Italian go-to recipe that is quick, flavorful and flexible. Bottarga transforms spaghetti aglio e olio into a splendid dish of the sea.
This simple bottarga pasta recipe is great for a table of people with different preferences. From major bottarga aficionados who want their spaghetti covered in bottarga (my husband), to those who love it as an accent (me). And anyone at the table who may want to skip the bottarga altogether can have their pasta with just garlic and olive oil. With a base of aglio e olio, you can be flexible and accommodate everyone.
Tip: With a table of mixed preferences, just make spaghetti aglio e olio, with garlic and olive oil per the recipe, and serve the bottarga at the table for whoever wants it.
In the summer, I almost always add freshly chopped tomatoes to my spaghetti alla bottarga.
Ingredients for Spaghetti alla Bottarga
Bottarga pasta is naturally dairy free without cheese or cream. In reality, all you need to make creamy pasta with bottarga is some hot pasta water. Grated bottarga mixed with the hot starchy water and oil helps create a creaminess of its own.
- Olive Oil – Pasta with bottarga relies on a quality extra virgin olive oil.
- Spaghetti – Long thin pastas like spaghetti, spaghettini or linguine go best with bottarga. It’s worth buying a higher quality pasta such as Rummo, De Cecco or Molisana. The texture is incomparable.
- Fresh Garlic – (optional) Garlic isn’t essential. You can substitute leeks, scallions or onions. Or make it the traditional Sardinian way and completely omit alliums altogether.
- Cherry Tomatoes – (optional) Fresh, quartered or chopped – We love to mix tomatoes in with our bottarga pasta in the summer. Any tomatoes of any size will work as long as they’re good. I like to get Small Sicilian Pachino tomatoes when in Italy. Depending on the preference of the day, I add the tomatoes in one of three ways: either uncooked, slightly cooked for a minute or two (with the garlic), or cooked just until the tomatoes fall apart into a light sauce.
- Gray Mullet Bottarga – or bottarga di muggine.
- Tip: Whole bottarga stays fresher tasting than pre-grated bottarga. (See Buying Bottarga below)
What is Bottarga?
Bottarga is made of the salted, pressed and dried roe of fish. While bottarga can be made from different kinds of fish, including tuna, cod, carp, sea bass and swordfish, bottarga made from grey mullet roe is considered the finest (and not surprisingly, the most expensive).
Grey mullet, which also goes by striped mullet and flathead grey mullet, is a beautiful iridescent silver fish found around coastal waters, in and around lagoons or estuaries, where sweet water meets the salt of the sea. It can often be seen jumping out of the water. Grey mullet is said to be more similar to sea bass than to red mullet.
Buying Bottarga
For this recipe, look for mullet roe bottarga: bottarga di muggine.
Bottarga is sold in specialty stores, and comes in 2 formats: whole, or already grated.
- Whole: Buying whole bottarga is preferred for optimal flavor. It has a longer shelf life, and stays fresher tasting because you can grate off however much you need at a time. Better to buy a whole bar and freshly grate it as you use it. It can also be a better value.
- Pre-grated: For convenience, you can get pre-grated bottarga in a jar. It can be good too, but tends to dry out faster, losing some of its fresh texture, flavor and color.
Bottarga can be difficult to find. A few places to check in the US include local specialty grocers Citarella , Surfas , and Eataly. While bottarga is historically made in the Mediterranean, it is now also being made in different parts of the world. There are a couple of American producers of bottarga that I have not tried yet, but am intrigued about. Cortez Conservas and Bottarga dell’Isola produce bottarga from mullet fished from the Floridian coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Bottarga Usage Tips
Whole cured bottarga can be eaten from the package. It does not need to be cooked. Bottarga is normally thinly sliced or finely grated like Parmesan cheese.
- At its freshest, either newly opened or not aged long, bottarga is harder to grate.
Tip – This is when you may want to prepare your pasta with sliced bottarga. - As the bottarga ages and drys out a little, it is easier to grate.
- As bottarga gets dryer over time, it gets tougher.
Tip – At this point you may want to use it exclusively for grating. However, some people like to slice up and eat dried bottarga too. I would liken it to a kind of bottarga jerky or crisp bacon.
Bottarga Storage Tips
- Store bottarga in the dark, in the cool fridge, away from the heat, to help prevent oxidation and browning.
- Tip – Once you open the package of bottarga, peel only enough of the thin protective natural casing as needed to slice or grate that day. (This is for aesthetics only — it’s completely edible.)
- Once opened, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and for extra protection, inside a self-sealing plastic bag.
- Kept tightly wrapped in the fridge, bottarga keeps for months — some say forever, some say three. The Sardinian package I currently have in the fridge says that it’s best within two months. In my experience, this seems conservative.
- Note, with time, a white layer of salt may precipitate from the bottarga.
Favorite Variations for Spaghetti alla Bottarga
- Lemon – Lemon pairs very well with bottarga. For an extra lemony variation of bottarga pasta, check out the note section of the recipe. As a garnish for a citrus punch and a nice finishing touch, sprinkle lemon zest on top of your bottarga pasta. Or a squeeze of lemon is a refreshing addition at the table on hot summer days.
- Fresh Sage Variation – Spaghetti alla Bottarga con la Salvia – This is a late summer, early fall addition to me. Having embraced bottarga with the full taste of the sea throughout the hot summer, we transition into fall with the warm and comforting addition of sage. (See the recipe’s notes for instructions on using sage in the sauce and as a garnish.)
- Bottarga Purist – For absolute bottarga aficionados, bottarga’s best expression on pasta is just with extra virgin olive oil. No garlic. Nor anything else. Besides getting the pure bottarga experience, the pasta is more delicate without garlic, and perhaps makes a more elegant dish. This is the traditional Sardinian way (alla Sarda) to eat pasta with bottarga, often made with extra virgin olive oil from one’s own olive orchard. Butter has gained favor too, as a more delicate option. You can easily prepare it without a recipe. However, I have given instructions in the recipe notes for both the olive oil and bottarga butter versions.
Recommended Tools
- A fine grater – Fresh bottarga tends to get stuck in the traditional type of fine grater. You can use the fine side of a box grater, but a modern one-direction fine grater or strip zester helps to not waste bottarga. It also makes for easier cleanup.
- A vegetable peeler or paring knife to peel or cut thin slices of bottarga.
- Pasta pot to boil water. If you are in the market for a pasta pot, look for a lightweight one! I’ve found it easier said than done these days! I recommend actually picking them up before you buy.
- A strainer – While a colander may be easiest, a pasta fork or tongs work too.
- Heat-proof bowl for tossing and serving the pasta.
Serve With
Serve spaghetti alla bottarga as a main meal, or as a first course to fish. Grilled or roasted grey mullet fish, sea bass (see Branzino with Mediterranean Lemon Sauce) or orata (see Grilled Sea Bream – Orata) are great choices.
Antipasto Ideas
- Artichokes – Marinated in oil.
- Celery – A simple salad of thinly sliced celery, tossed with olive oil, salt and freshly grated black pepper, and topped with a few thin slices of bottarga.
- Crostini – A thinly sliced and toasted baguette rubbed with garlic, drizzled with fragrant extra virgin olive oil and topped with thinly sliced bottarga. Or spread with softened butter and bottarga.
Drink Recommendations
- Sparkling water with a fresh squeeze of lemon juice.
- Wine – Spaghetti alla bottarga pairs well with a nice glass of Sardinian or Tuscan vermentino. Wine Searcher is a great website to find a particular wine in local and online wine stores wherever you are.
- Aperitif – Vermentino wine, or a dry Italian prosecco, French champagne, Spanish cava, Basque Txakoli, or other good dry sparkling wine.
An Aperitif for Bottarga and Sherry Aficionados – Not far from the lagoons of Cabras on the Italian island of Sardinia, where bottarga is famous, there are a couple of very good white wines made using the flor method: a dry Vernaccia di Oristano (unrelated to the Vernaccia grapes in mainland Italy) and a dry Malvasia di Bosa. Similar to fino sherry, the Vernaccia di Oristano wine is usually made with the solera system and aged in oxidative conditions, whereby a layer of flor then forms to protect the wine from oxygen. Naturally, they are sometimes suggested as an optimum pairing with bottarga. I would recommend them both with bottarga as an aperitif. For the pasta course, vermentino is the way to go.
For a Light Dessert
I can’t think of a better finish to a plate of spaghetti alla bottarga during the hot summer months than a cold Sicilian Granita di Limone. It’s also perfect between courses.
Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ oz bottarga, grated (3 Tbsp), or sliced + more to garnish
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (high quality)
- 1 clove of garlic, chopped or finely sliced
- 1 scant pinch of peperoncino (less than ⅛ tsp powdered or crushed red pepper)
- 3 to 4 (3oz) cherry tomatoes (optional), quartered or chopped
- 8 oz pasta (long dried pasta such as spaghetti, spaghettini or linguine; or fresh tagliolini or tagliatelle)
- a pinch of parsley (optional), minced
Instructions
- Bring a large covered pot of salted water to boil.
- Meanwhile, finely grate the bottarga into a large heatproof bowl, and toss with 2 Tbsp of the olive oil. Stir 1 Tbsp of the hot pasta water into the bottarga mixture, and set aside.
- Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, tender yet still firm to the bite.
- Meanwhile, in a sauce pan or small skillet, sauté the garlic, and peperoncino if using, with 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat until the garlic just starts to color. Careful not to let it brown. Remove from heat and add to the bowl with the bottarga. Stir in the tomatoes, if using.
- When the pasta is ready, reserve around ½ cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta and toss with the bottarga. If it seems a little dry to you, add more of the starchy hot pasta water a spoon at a time, and toss until the sauce coats the pasta well. Sprinkle with a touch of parsley.
- To serve, garnish each plate of pasta with more grated bottarga, plus a few thin slices, if you like. Serve more bottarga to be grated at the table. For more garnishing ideas, see notes. Enjoy immediately while hot. Buon Appetito.
- Bottarga
- If using whole bottarga, remove the thin protective natural casing just from the area you want to grate or slice.
- If the grated bottarga lumps up on you, add a tablespoon of hot pasta water and mix well until melted.
- If using whole bottarga, remove the thin protective natural casing just from the area you want to grate or slice.
- Garlic – You can substitute leeks, scallions or onions in place of garlic, or omit alliums altogether.
- Variations
- Fresh Mint Garnish – an excellent pairing with bottarga. Garnish each plate with a few hand-ripped leaves of fresh mint, or a mint/parsley mix.
- Lemon – as a variation, just to garnish, or both.
- Variation – Stir 1 Tbsp of lemon juice per person in with the bottarga and olive oil in Step 2.
- Garnish – Garnish with grated lemon zest and/or add a lemon wedge to each plate of pasta. Or serve a bowlful of lemons or wedges to zest or squeeze at the table.
- Sage – as a variation, just to garnish, or both.
- Variation – Omit all sauce ingredients except the bottarga and extra virgin olive oil. Warm a few fresh sage leaves in 1 Tbsp butter (or olive oil) for a minute and take off the heat. Toss with the pasta and bottarga in Step 4. Top with crushed black pepper and grated bottarga. Garnish with a sprig of sage. (See also sage garnish.)
- Garnish – Toss some sage leaves in just enough olive oil (or butter) to coat, and fry over medium heat until crisp. Remove to a paper towel, dust with a pinch of salt, and set aside. Sprinkle over your pasta as a finishing touch before serving.
- Purist Variations
- Bottarga and Olive Oil – This is the traditional Sardinian way to eat pasta with bottarga. Omit Step 4 and all sauce ingredients except for the bottarga and extra virgin olive oil.
- Bottarga Butter – Omit step 4 and all sauce ingredients except the bottarga. Make bottarga butter either by simply mixing room temperature butter with grated bottarga, or by blending butter with thin slices of bottarga in a food processor. When the pasta is ready, toss with the bottarga butter and garnish as usual.
Nutrition Info: Click to Expand
Cured fish roe has long been valued for its sustenance. Bottarga from grey mullet is a notable source of omega 3 fatty acids with beneficial health effects. Notably in anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular, age-related cognitive decline, and cancer fighting roles. It’s also a good source of protein and antioxidant vitamins A and E.
Bottarga in the Mediterranean
Salted dried roe is appreciated and produced in many parts of the Mediterranean and beyond, including Greece (avgotaraho in modern Greek), Turkey, Lebanon (batrakh), Egypt (batarekh), Tunisia, Italy (bottarga, also buttariga in Sardinia), Spain (botarga), and France (boutargue or poutargue). All with similar names thought to stem from the same Byzantine Greek (Roman Period) word ootàrichon (with oo,ou,avgo,(b)o,(b)a,(b)u referring to eggs, and tarichon, taraho, trakh, tarekh, targa, tariga, targue referring to salted, naturally in seawater, brined or pickled.)
Bottarga Origins
No one knows for sure the origin of bottarga and who discovered the process of making this delicacy. However, the earliest known testament of bottarga today is a 4000-year-old Egyptian bas-relief showing a man removing the roe from a fish, presumably, to be salted and preserved. The Phoenicians are often credited for spreading the knowledge of bottarga throughout the Mediterranean through their colonies, such as Tharros in Sardinia, where the nearby lagoon of Cabras is an ideal habitat for muggine, the grey mullet. To this day, it is a renowned area for one of the best bottargas in the world. Nowadays, a lot of the roe is imported, then processed according to traditional artisanal methods in Cabras and elsewhere in Sardegna.
Archaelogical findings near Cabras also point to one of the ancient tribes of Sea People, the Shardana, who inhabited the island of Sardinia before the Phoenicians, and are thought to be of Sardinian origin. The Shardana were warriors of the sea that were mentioned by Rameses II and III and depicted in Egyptian inscriptions, showing the possibility of direct knowledge and or importation of bottarga from Egypt. With its long shelf life, bottarga would have been the perfect sustenance for long sea voyages.
