Spaghetti Bottarga
Good spaghetti, freshly grated lobes of bottarga and a squeeze of lemon.
It’s difficult not to fall in love with this dish. It always tastes like more than the sum of its parts. Good spaghetti, freshly grated lobes of bottarga, a squeeze of lemon, and you’re off to the races.
Look for bronze-extruded pasta. The outer surface of the noodle has a rougher texture, which helps the sauce cling to the spaghetti.
Olive oil, a generous pour
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
Calabrian chili pepper, crushed
200g dried spaghetti
Parsley, finely chopped
Bottarga, grated with a coarse microplane
The juice of 1/2 lemon
A knob of butter
Salt
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Drop the spaghetti, stirring once.
In a pan, add olive oil and garlic; sauté until translucent and aromatic. Add Calabrian chili pepper and immediately turn off the heat.
While the pasta cooks, combine the bottarga, butter, lemon juice, and olive oil in a bowl. Loosen with a splash of pasta water to form a loose paste.
Add another splash of pasta water to the pan.
When pasta is al dente, reserve half a cup of cooking water, then drain. Add pasta directly to the garlic oil. Toss gently to coat evenly, taking care not to break strands.
With the heat off, fold in the bottarga mixture. If the pasta feels dry, slowly add pasta water, a splash at a time, until the sauce emulsifies.
Eat immediately.
