Spaghetti alla bottarga di Orbetello

Spaghetti alla bottarga di Orbetello

ph. Emiko DaviesUnder Spanish rule for 150 years, the southern Tuscan town of Orbetello has long been famous for its bottarga, made with mullet roe, and its eel dishes, such as its anguilla sfumata (spicy, smoked eel) and scaveccio (which takes its name directly from escabesce, the Spanish method of

bookmark
Thu 16 Jul 2015 12:00 AM

 

Under Spanish rule for 150 years, the southern Tuscan town of Orbetello has long been famous for its bottarga, made with mullet roe, and its eel dishes, such as its anguilla sfumata (spicy, smoked eel) and scaveccio (which takes its name directly from escabesce, the Spanish method of curing fish under vinegar), and they are still the town’s best-known delicacies.

 

As one approaches Orbetello from Monte Argentario, the town seems to rise straight out of the lagoon, a little reminiscent of Venice. The lagoon is created by two sand bars—the beautiful long, soft-sanded beaches of Feniglia and Giannella—that connect the rugged, island-like Monte Argentario promontory to the Tuscan mainland. With the finger-shaped centro storico of Orbetello jutting out into the lagoon, the town is surrounded almost completely by water, long the main source of Orbetello’s seafood-based cuisine.

 

With Etruscan and Roman origins, Orbetello was once a strategic town in the Republic of Siena, but today the strongest echoes—in its cuisine, culture and breezy atmosphere—are those of its Spanish past, which dates to the mid sixteenth century. Much of the city’s civic architecture, which the Spanish rebuilt, and even the Spanish-tinged, slightly Roman-accented vocabulary (mirare, Orbetellans say, from the Spanish ‘to look,’ instead of guardare) and cuisine (including the traditional Easter schiacciata, scarsella) can be traced to this Spanish influence.

 

 

Spaghetti alla bottarga di Orbetello / ph. Emiko Davies

 

 

The name bottarga comes from an Arabic word, botarikh, for cured fish eggs, a preservation technique most likely introduced to Orbetello by the Spanish 500 years ago. Unlike Sardinia’s bottarga, which can be cured for up to six months, Orbetello’s bottarga is cured for only about a week, resulting in a compact but soft, moist product. During August and September, when grey mullets are carrying eggs, the fish are caught during their natural migration at the mouth of the lagoon, then worked entirely by hand: egg sacs are carefully removed whole, cleaned, then placed under salt for brief curing, after which the sacs are rinsed and left to dry in a controlled environment of 18°C for seven to eight days.

 

In true Slow Food fashion, Bottarga di Orbetello is championed as a locally made specialty by the Orbetello fishing cooperative Cooperativa dei pescatori di Orbetello (orbetellopesca.it), which also happens to be the best place to savour it: along with direct seafood sales, the cooperative runs a restaurant). This full-flavoured delicacy can be served as an antipasto, thinly sliced and dressed in a little lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil and served with toasted bread. But it is most commonly eaten grated over spaghetti.

 

The care with which the bottarga is produced is reflected in the price—a plate of spaghetti alla bottarga di Orbetello will be the most expensive primo on the menu. But it’s easily made at home and, like other prized ingredients such as caviar or truffles, a little goes a long way. Especially in terms of flavour: bottarga is naturally salty. Enjoy with a glass of the local white wine, Ansonica—a dry white from Monte Argentario and Giglio Island, made from the same grape that western Sicilians use to make Marsala wine—or a rosé.

 

 

RECIPE

 

Spaghetti alla Bottarga di Orbetello (serves 4)

 

320 g spaghetti

50 g of bottarga di Orbetello, grated

juice of 1 lemon

extra-virgin olive oil

handful of flatleaf parsley, finely chopped

 

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a generous pinch of salt and boil the pasta until al dente. Drain, setting aside some of the pasta cooking liquid. Immediately toss the hot pasta with the bottarga, the lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil and a little splash of the pasta cooking liquid and toss again quickly so that the liquids create a saucy emulsion. Garnish with chopped parsley.

 

NB. Bottarga needs to be peeled of its extremely thin ‘skin’ before grating or slicing; once you cut into it, you can easily peel off the skin of the portion you need with your hands. Leave the skin on the rest of the bottarga to help conserve it until next use.

Related articles

FOOD + WINE

Mezè Wild Dining: sharing plates in a sleek locale

All the flavours of the Mediterranean by candlelight

FOOD + WINE

Berberè opens at Manifattura Tabacchi

A retro dining experience with really good pizzas

FOOD + WINE

Wanda Caffè: like grandma used to make it

International and local flavours blend together in this cute new coffeeshop.

LIGHT MODE
DARK MODE