Spaghetti alla Bottarga (Spaghetti with Bottarga)

Grate the bottarga into a glass bowl.

Cook the spaghetti in plenty of water, not too salty, because the bottarga is already very salty.

Put the extra virgin olive oil in a pan and brown the garlic cloves. Once they are golden, remove them from the pan.

Drain the pasta when al dente and add it to the pan with the oil. Add two-thirds of the grated bottarga.

For the crispy breadcrumbs: pour the extra virgin olive oil into the pan and brown the breadcrumbs for a few minutes.

Put the pasta in a large bowl and add the last third of grated bottarga.

Decorate with the remaining fried breadcrumbs to give crunchiness to the dish.

Recipe Variations

As an alternative to breadcrumbs, if you prefer, you can use fresh, chopped parsley.

A great way to present pasta with bottarga is with lemon zest. Just peel a lemon with a potato peeler to get the yellow part, which you can then cut into thin strips.

Spaghetti alle vongole, or spaghetti with clams, is a classic Italian seafood pasta served from the heel of the boot all the way up to the north. This recipe takes you through each step carefully and offers wine pairing tips. Popular in Sicily, swordfish combines well with sweet and fragrant flavours and is the star of this linguine with swordfish, zucchini and mint extravaganza. Finally, once you’ve mastered those, this article offers another five Italian seafood pasta recipes, including creamy tagliatelle with shrimp and vegetables or a colourful pasta salad with tuna.

Serve with a still white wine with mineral notes or slightly scented. Also excellent with cocktails, bottarga goes well with dry drinks based on gin or vodka.