Note that if you purchase something via one of our links, including Amazon, we may earn a small commission.
Print
RECIPE: Bar Lou’s Santa Barbara Sea Urchin Spaghettini
- Yield: Serves 4
Description
This represents one of the best products in the world. We don’t even put butter on our spaghettini. We add some crème fraîche, and then let the sea urchin do all the work.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 8 oz fresh sea urchin (uni)
- 1/2 cup crème fraîche
- 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 leek, white part only, finely minced
- 1 tsp Tutto Calabria Hot Spread Sauce
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 12 oz spaghettini
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Small handful finely minced fresh chives
Instructions
- Set aside 4 tongues of sea urchin to use as garnish. Combine remaining sea urchin and crème fraîche using a blender. Blend until completely smooth. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and leeks and cook, stirring constantly, until softened but not browned (lower heat if the aromatics threaten to brown), about 2 minutes. Add Tutto Calabria Hot Spread Sauce and stir until homogeneous. Add wine and cook until liquid is reduced down to less than 2 tablespoons, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and set aside until pasta is cooked.
- Boil pasta until al dente in a large pot of boiling water. Keep pasta water.
- When pasta is cooked, use tongs to transfer the spaghettini directly from the boiling water to the pan with the garlic/oil mixture. Scrape uni purée into the pan and add a few ounces of starchy pasta-cooking water.
- Set the pan over high heat and cook, stirring and swirling constantly, until the sauce comes together and develops a creamy consistency and the pasta is fully cooked, about 1 minute. Add more pasta water as necessary to thin the sauce if it over-thickens. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Divide pasta between warmed serving bowls, drizzle each portion with more extra-virgin olive oil, garnish each with a whole sea urchin tongue, sprinkle with minced chives, and serve.
