maybe the only thing better than eating bottarga, is eating gifted bottarga that was domestically caught in tampa bay and cared for by a man with a generous heart, the soul of a true food lover and the mind of a meticulous craftsman, .
you see, i have this friend…
last year he sent me a box that contained a smoked mullet fillet which was just plain excellent, along with some of his smoked mullet roe which was beyond divine. if you can somehow imagine… the roe sacks were still a bit soft, all yolky and smoky and well, it’s a flavor pop that i can’t bestow proper justice on with only a few words – but dear readers, i will try. think insanely good. as in memorable. one of those foods… and – it is unavailable for purchase. anywhere.
this year i got a bit more of the same – plus, through tedious research and tenacity my friend decided to salt and sun-dry a fair few of his precious roe in the florida air. and he nailed it with his technique. the bottarga he created was as good as the italian stuff, if not better, because it was just so fresh.
when you pay $70 for a double lobed mullet sac, you tend to use it a bit sparingly. but still, that amount could easily serve 10, which if you do the math is not really all that crazy especially, if served over spaghetti. but when it shows up at your door with no credit card receipt, a pure gift, sent only to be enjoyed wholeheartedly – well, then you can go just a little bottarga crazy. so the one full size double lobe was grated into my very best olive oil and the pound of pasta was divided between 5 of us and garnished with this precious gold, the only other additions being finely minced garlic, meyer lemon zest and juice, chopped parsley and a cherry pepper that added just the slightest kick.
my bowl of pasta, pre tossed… we all loved it. truly and passionately.
so, to recap - please note that there is no heat involved in the making of this sauce. there was the warming of the bowls in the oven – and of course the cooking of the pasta, which when done got quickly tossed with all the aforementioned ingredients. i’ve used other methods, but this way really works as well as you could wish for…
this was our first course, the smoked mullet fillet on toasted millet bread. or as i like to refer to the dish, "mullet on millet", (chef keller – please feel free to use this) with just some olive oil and thinly sliced meyer lemon. the meyer lemons are so mild that the rind is really easy to eat and i’m a lemon rind eating kinda gal from way back. and yes, granted, i could have cut the slices thinner but my knife skills are not that impressive and this is one of those things that makes me a total lightweight/hack/novice when it comes to cooking… but i can live with this fact and that’s why the culinary gods created mandolines for when i feel the need to impress…
a huge thank you, RK… one day we shall feast on bottarga together!
bottarga post #1 - fail…
bottarga post #2 - faith restored…
bottarga post #3 - the friend appears in my life… changing the way i look at bottarga entirely
bottarga post #4 - experimenting still, but now becoming the norm…
and hopefully a post #6 will be in my immediate future.
oh, how i love this stuff…
27 responses so far ↓
1 Kitt // Nov 24, 2008 at 1:01 am
Wow, that’s a good friend to share such fishy goodness. I’m not familiar with bottarga, but if I ever see it on a menu, I’ll be sure to give it a try!
2 Donald // Nov 24, 2008 at 4:05 am
I want a friend like that. Actually that sounds more like the bottarga fairy!
I wish I knew what it tastes like.
3 RK // Nov 24, 2008 at 6:41 am
In a sneaky way, youve now been spoiled rotten.
Pity the foreigner that sends you bad Bottarga from now on………
4 lifeinrecipes // Nov 24, 2008 at 6:53 am
“Mullet on millet” – that’s great.
I can only imagine how amazing his is ….because I finally received my package of bottarga – yay!
But now I want to go to the soft smoked bottarga mountain.
5 Julia // Nov 24, 2008 at 7:35 am
That looks fantastic! Does RK need a new BFF? I’m happy to oblige, and I promise I would share whatever bottarga dish I create
6 Peter // Nov 24, 2008 at 8:20 am
Greece produces and exports lots of good mullet botarga…much going to Italy.
It’s great shaved on pasta and glad you got the hang of it…finally! lol
7 Mal Carne // Nov 24, 2008 at 9:10 am
Well, this answers my question: I’ve been seeing yellow mullet roe in the markets lately and wondered if our FL breed of mullet could hold up to the Mediterranean red mullet, when it comes to bottarga. Seems that it just might.
I’ve got sun, salt, a big pile of oak for the smoker, and a ‘mullet depot’ down the street. This might be a good project for the weekend.
8 cookiecrumb // Nov 24, 2008 at 10:33 am
So the five of you ate the entire thing? Wow.
When I read about your Florida friend last year, I was plotting a way to tell him you had moved, to my address.
9 NOBLE PIG // Nov 24, 2008 at 10:41 am
Wow…what a gift you have received. And yes, I can totally see this on the French Laundry menu, I would have eaten it happily when I was there. Beautiful post Claudia.
10 Peter // Nov 24, 2008 at 11:59 am
I would gladly trade you guanciale or lardo for some of that there bottarga, should any more arrive.
11 maris // Nov 24, 2008 at 12:02 pm
looks delicious! your pictures are great and the pasta sounds incredible…
12 Jennifer Hess // Nov 24, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Wow… simple and absolutely eye-poppingly gorgeous. I just had lunch and now I’m hungry again.
13 Nicole // Nov 24, 2008 at 1:05 pm
The pasta looks amazing.
14 chefectomy // Nov 24, 2008 at 7:06 pm
I am a caviar whore but have not done bottarga. Love the cruda prep for the sauce.
15 Heather // Nov 24, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Oh, I only have friends who send me venison they shot themselves. I’m on the verge of scoring some of Peter’s handiwork, at a trade of some pickles. I need a bottarga friend. Bad.
16 Rachel (S[d]OC) // Nov 25, 2008 at 6:39 am
Why is it I don’t have friends who give me expensive or hard to find food? I need to acquire a new set of friends. Mine just freeload off my cooking.
My vocabulary is spoiled by modern slang. I read this and thought, “She’s eating an ugly haircut?’
17 kristie // Nov 25, 2008 at 9:32 am
double-lobed mullet sac. Hehehehe. Thank you for that.
18 Sara // Nov 25, 2008 at 10:55 am
I’ve only had bottarga once at one of Mario Batali’s restaurants, I remember it being delicious.
19 Biz // Nov 25, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I have never had roe before, not after a neighbor invited us kids on the block into his garage and sliced open a sturgeon right on this table and the eggs came spilling out all over.
It was his idea of a Halloween prank! No thanks, but your dish does look divine!
20 robin // caviar and codfish // Nov 25, 2008 at 4:57 pm
My god… delicious. And I like your math–I am so getting bottarga for my next dinner party.
21 maybelles mom (feeding maybelle) // Nov 25, 2008 at 7:06 pm
I read this at work but couldn’t comment. what is there to say? your food is ridiculous generally, but this is seriously too much. I have only had bottarga a couple times but each was so memorable. Though, actually I do think the mullet is equally yummy in a low-key less good looking cousin way. (PS thanks for the donuts comments.)
22 We Are Never Full // Nov 29, 2008 at 10:08 am
you are too lucky, you lucky biznatch, you.
i really love the idea of serving this over pasta. gotta say, i never would’ve thought to do this. but that ‘mullet on millet’ (HA) looks fabu as well. really inspired meal.
23 cook eat FRET - menu for hope V - a chance to help // Dec 15, 2008 at 3:50 pm
[...] need nothing else, although feel free to get experimental. it’s pretty much like my beloved bottarga that has been smoked as opposed to just the sun and salt cured. and it is wonderful. no actually, [...]
24 Mal Carne // Dec 24, 2008 at 11:29 am
Thanks to RK, I am currently making some of this. Due to contractual obligations, I’m sorry to say that you get none.
25 We Are Never Full » Blog Archive » Fish Egg Th-roe-down: Diver Scallops with Lumpfish Roe and Bottarga // Dec 7, 2009 at 6:55 pm
[...] of something, we fell into contact with a very nice gentleman, Robert, from Florida, via our friend Claudia at Cook, Eat, Fret who generously supplied us with a sizable shipment for [...]
26 Fish Egg Th-roe-down: Diver Scallops with Lumpfish Roe and Bottarga | Food & Cooking // Jan 1, 2010 at 11:59 am
[...] of something, we fell into contact with a very nice gentleman, Robert, from Florida, via our friend Claudia at Cook, Eat, Fret who generously supplied us with a sizable shipment for [...]
27 Fish Egg Th-roe-down: Diver Scallops with Lumpfish Roe and Bottarga | Hello~ Body Health // Feb 8, 2010 at 12:02 am
[...] of something, we fell into contact with a very nice gentleman, Robert, from Florida, via our friend Claudia at Cook, Eat, Fret who generously supplied us with a sizable shipment for [...]
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