Spaghetti Alla Bottarga Di Muggine - Mullet Roe

Name: 📋Spaghetti alla Bottarga di Muggine
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1 lb Spaghetti; 1/2 Bottarga; 2 tbsp breadcrumbs; 2 clove peeled garlic cloves; 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 1 lemon zest; 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (to add at the end)

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Spaghetti alla Bottarga di Muggine, cured salted mullet roe, is the easiest and at the same time very sophisticated pasta dish. It is the perfect solution for a fancy last-minute dinner party. Pasta with Bottarga is ready in 15 minutes and all the ingredients have a long shelf-life, easy to keep a stock in the pantry.

Jump to:

What is bottarga di muggine
Why pasta with bottarga is an ideal dish
How to make it
How to serve it
Bottarga substitute
20 rules to properly cook pasta
More recipes pasta with seafood
📋Spaghetti alla Bottarga di Muggine

What is bottarga di muggine

Bottarga is fish roe (usually mullet - muggine or tuna) that has been salted, pressed, and dried.

This method of preserving it has been used for centuries by the Phoenicians more than 3000 years ago.

The name Bottarga has Arab origins baṭāriḫ, meaning eggs preserved in salt.

The Arabs brought this ingredient to the Mediterranean sea and with time it became a Sardinia specialty, the most famous Bottarga from Cabras region.

In Italy, it is also produced in Sicily, Campania, and Tuscany.

Why pasta with bottarga is an ideal dish

Bottarga is an Italian delicacy also known as the Mediterranean caviar. It has an intense taste of salted fish, slightly bitter like almonds.

It has a very long shelf-life, if the package is not opened it lasts for months in the fridge.

Once it is open, it can be kept in the fridge tightly wrapped or preserved in oil for about a month or in the freezer for even longer.

All the rest of the ingredients for this recipe have a long shelf life, easy to always have a supply ready in the pantry.

In addition, this recipe is very easy and quick to make.

If you have unexpected guests, you can make this dish in less than 15 minutes.

While the pasta is boiling, the breadcrumbs are flavored with garlic and bottarga.

Once the pasta is ready, it is added to the breadcrumbs with raw bottarga flakes and lemon zest.

Due to its original flavor, Bottarga turns a simple pasta dish into a gastronomic delicacy.

Spaghetti with Bottarga on an elegant serving dish

How to make it

Peel the Bottarga

The mullet roe (bottarga di muggine) is still inside its membrane sac which needs to be removed.

It can be removed with a sharp knife, as it easily peels off.

Prepare the breadcrumbs

In a frying pan, stir fry 2 garlic cloves in extra virgin olive oil so the oil gets the flavor of the garlic
Add the breadcrumbs
Stir while they toast and absorb the oil
Add 1 tablespoon of grated bottarga
Add the lemon zest
Stir so the breadcrumbs absorb the flavors. Turn off the heat.

N.B: you do not need to add salt as the bottarga is already very salty

Toast the breadcrumbs with some bottarga, lemon zest and garlic

Boil the pasta

Bring to boil the salted water for the pasta
Once the water is boiling cook the spaghetti, 1 minute less than what is written in the box
Drain the spaghetti but keep the water
Mix them with the breadcrumbs

Finalizing the dish

Add 2 ladles of water from the pasta (it has to be the water of the pasta as the starch released by the pasta will make a creamy sauce)
Add some freshly grated bottarga
Stir well to combine
Place on a serving dish and top with some more freshly grated bottarga
Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil
Finishing with some lemon zest and serve

How to serve it

This dish is usually served as a primo piatto for a seafood dinner or as a main for a light luncheon.

Bottarga is an expensive ingredient, but due to its strong taste, you only need a few flakes to flavor each dish.

A package of roe mullet can serve 5 lb of pasta.

Do not serve parmesan with Spaghetti with bottarga.

Making a creamy Bottarga pasta

As I mentioned earlier, do not serve parmesan with Spaghetti with bottarga.

Breadcrumbs are added instead of Parmesan to give texture and creaminess to the dish without adding any other unnecessary strong flavor.

In fact, breadcrumbs are a better option as they enhance the flavor of the bottarga by absorbing it.

As the breadcrumbs turn into a creamy paste, they uniformly distribute the bottarga flavor into the spaghetti.

Spaghetti with Bottarga served on a dish

Bottarga substitute

You can find Bottarga made with tuna eggs which has a stronger flavor and it is less expensive, at least in Italy.

However, Tuna Bottarga is not easy to find in the United State.

For a less refined version of this dish, you can substitute Bottarga with Anchovy stored in salt.

The flavor is not comparable but anchovies also have a long shelf life so it is an ingredient you can always have at hand.

You cook it exactly the same way, by melting the anchovy filets in oil and garlic and adding breadcrumbs for texture.

20 rules to properly cook pasta

If you are a novice cook, here are some important points you need to know to properly cook pasta:

Pasta should be boiled in salted water, adding salt after doesn't work
Add the salt as soon as you put the pan with water on the heat, so you don't forget
If you don't remember if you added salt to the water, taste the water
Use 1 tablespoon of salt per 4 quarts - 4 liters of water which should be enough for 1lb - 500 gr of pasta
Make sure the pot is large enough so the water doesn't overflow once you put in the pasta
If you put the lid on the pan, the water will get to the boiling point faster
Do not add oil to the water
The water should be boiling hot before you put the pasta in
Use a good pasta brand. My favorites are (in this order): Rummo, Garofalo, De Cecco. Barilla is my least favorite one but better than any other unknown brands
When you add the pasta, the water may stop boiling as the pasta lowers the water temperature. Put the lid on the pan until the water starts boiling again
Once the water boils remove the lid otherwise the foam will overflow from the pan
Stir the pasta from time to time
Keep the heat high so the water boils all the time
Always cook the pasta 1 minute less than what is written on the pasta box
Taste the pasta and drain immediately when "Al Dente" meaning still firm and chunky
Never leave the pasta floating in the water once it is cooked!!!!!
As soon as the pasta is drained, season immediately and stir.
If for whatever reason the seasoning is not ready, season the pasta with some extra virgin olive oil and stir
Once the pasta is ready and seasoned, it has to be served and eaten immediately
No parmesan in pasta with seafood, you can sprinkle toasted grated breadcrumbs or almonds

Plus a cheat sheet free download with all the ingredients, measurements and cooking times of 18 of the most popular recipes on the blog. Including homemade tagliatelle, gnocchi, pizza and panini.

Are breadcrumbs on pasta a "cucina povera" (poor man cuisine) recipe?

Many people think that some Italians use breadcrumbs on pasta because they are poor and cannot afford to buy Parmesan. As an Italian, I do not agree. First, because Parmesan is a cheese from the North of Italy and in the South Pecorino is often used which is produced locally and less pricy. Secondly, as Italy is surrounded by the sea, the seafood is often fresh, and adding cheese to it will cover the fresh taste of the sea. That is why some recipes add breadcrumbs, they enhance the seafood flavor as they absorb it and create a cream sauce that amalgamates and uniformly combines it with the pasta.

Why Italian don't add cheese to the seafood pasta?

Fresh ingredients are very important for Italians, and as Italy is surrounded by the Mediterranean sea, we mostly eat fresh seafood. There is absolutely no reason to add cheese to it as it will cover the fresh taste of the sea.
If you want to add something for texture, you can add toasted breadcrumbs or grated almonds.

More recipes pasta with seafood

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