Bottarga is silver mullet roe originating in countries surrounding the Mediterranean. Using sea salt, the roe is cured and dried to perfection, then waxed to prevent further drying and exposure to light (Bottarga.net). The first place I tried Bottarga was at 'inoteca on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. They serve a delicious dish of a soft cooked egg on toast atop a bed of chopped asparagus - and you can add Bottarga crumbles to the top. It's salty, smoky and delicious. So recently I saw an episode of Jamie Oliver's cooking & travel show where he used Bottarga in a dish, and I decided to make it my mission to find some and use it. I also thought this was a great place to start this new blog, dedicated to food.
I searched online and couldn't find Bottarga under $90 - I mean, I want to try it, but come on. I finally sauntered over to Dean & Deluca in SoHo, thinking they might have it. And even if they didn't, I really wanted some Elderflower Cordial anyway, so not a wasted trip. The first slab of Bottarga I found was $115 - while I really thought about it, I couldn't shell out the bucks. A little more searching in the same case and I saw some mullet Bottarga for $36/each. I jumped. And then for good measure I also got some Elderflower Cordial, Lingonberry Syrup (weekend cocktails) and some fresh honey complete with honeycomb (I want to sink my teeth into that honeycomb). All of these are pictured above.
This weekend I think I'll start off with spaghettini with bottarga. Maybe a breakfast of duck eggs dusted with bottarga for breakfast? Rest assured, photos will follow.
No comments:
Post a Comment