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Spaghetti with Bottarga: Fine Dining for the 99 Percent

Written by Danielle Oteri

Spaghetti with bottarga is a rich meal that’s much more affordable than a tin of caviar. Eat like royalty with this classic Italian pasta dish you can make on a weeknight.

The French Laundry in Napa Valley is considered the pinnacle of fine dining in America. It’s the alpha dog, the ultimate, the Harvard, the Yankees, the Beatles of restaurants.

With three Michelin stars, it’s the crème-de-la-crème-de-la-crème.

Two weeks ago, I planted my foodie flag there and had what I anticipated to be my crowning “meal of a lifetime.” Simply, it was a gorgeous experience that I’m not soon to forget.

spaghetti with bottarga, lemon, capers and parsley
Photo: Casey Barber

It was also replete with the three benchmark ingredients of fine dining: caviar, truffles, and foie gras.

Why though, must these ingredients be limited to lavish and prohibitively expensive meals within the pantheon of only the best restaurants and lengthy tasting menus?

In France and Italy especially, all three are enjoyed liberally, albeit in different forms.

bottarga with shavings
Photo: Casey Barber

Bottarga

Bottarga is Sardinia’s most famous food and has an illustrious 3,000-year history.

The pressed roe pouch of a grey mullet fish is purified, salted, and cured into a hard, saffron-hued slab. This preserved caviar is then sliced or shaved over pasta, eggs, or toast.

The flavor is nutty and umami-rich, but not overpowering. Like high-quality anchovies, the fishiness melts into the overall flavor of the dish you’re combining it with.

spaghetti with bottarga, lemon, capers and parsley
Photo: Casey Barber

One of the most graceful solo meals in my repertoire is spaghetti with bottarga.

The pasta strands are tossed with thin slivers of bottarga and capers for a burst of salinity, lemon juice for brightness, and olive oil to bring it all together.

A generous amount of chopped parsley keeps the rich salty flavor from being too overwhelming.

The upfront cost of a package of bottarga may seem like a lot, but a few shavings of bottarga go a long way. The effort is minimal and the reward is tremendous.

ingredients for spaghetti with bottarga
Photo: Casey Barber

Truffles and Foie Gras

Truffles are mushrooms that grow underground, usually in dense forests. In the Umbria region of Italy, where some of the world’s best truffles grow, there is little pretension over such things and truffles are commonly found atop pizza.

Beyond the places where they grow abundantly, the average price of a white truffle can go up to $4500 per pound!

Fine restaurants often use truffle oil, which is largely a scam as the truffle flavor is derived from an artificial ingredient that is all scent, little flavor and usually mixed with a cheap, non-virgin olive oil.

A much better investment is a jar of truffle salt. Small flecks of black truffles are mixed with sea salt.

spaghetti with bottarga, lemon, capers and parsley
Photo: Casey Barber

The earthy taste of truffles combined with the briny taste of the ocean is a revelation. Sprinkled on top of scrambled eggs, life has never tasted so good.

Foie gras, the fattened liver of a hand-fed goose, is highly controversial and even more highly prized. In France, it is enjoyed widely and without the exorbitant cost.

A less decadent but equally rich chicken liver pâté is a signature dish of Tuscany, where absolutely every enoteca will have “Crostini Toscana”—slices of toast spread with the pâté—available to pair with a glass of Chianti.

Once I made it at home, the mystique of fancy pâté faded as I saw how simple and peasanty it really was, though the taste was no less luxurious.

It is perhaps one of the least costly things you can make, with a tub of chicken livers costing no more than $1.50, even at my local, overpriced grocery store.

spaghetti with bottarga, lemon, capers and parsley

While my meal at the French Laundry may have been a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the ingredients and flavors I enjoyed there are in no way limited to only sophisticated (read: wealthy) palates.

The next time I crave caviar, I can sit out on the fire escape with a dish of spaghetti with bottarga and raise a glass to democratic dining.

spaghetti with bottarga, lemon, capers and parsley

Spaghetti with Bottarga

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Spaghetti with bottarga is a rich meal that's much more affordable than a tin of caviar. Eat like royalty with this classic Italian pasta dish.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 pound (8 ounces) spaghetti
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup bottarga peels (I use a vegetable peeler, but a cheese slicer also works if the blade is sharp enough)
  • 1/4 cup (about 42 grams / 1 1/2 ounces) capers, rinsed
  • Juice from half a lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
  • 1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • flaky sea salt for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  1. Bring a large (4- to 6-quart) pot of water to a boil, and add the kosher salt.
  2. Once dissolved, add the spaghetti and cook for 8-10 minutes or until al dente.
  3. Meanwhile, stir the olive oil, bottarga, capers, and lemon juice together in a large bowl. This can also be done hours before for a richer marinade.
  4. Drain the spaghetti and add to the bowl with the bottarga marinade.
  5. Add the parsley and toss until all the ingredients have integrated.
  6. Serve warm and garnish with flaky sea salt, if desired.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 160Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1134mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 1gSugar: 8gProtein: 1g

The nutritional information above is computer-generated and only an estimate.

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4 Comments

    1. Actually, these are Danielle’s ideas – but she’s one of the smartest people I know, so there’s a lot to love with her! Come over and we’ll have truffle salt popcorn.

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