Spicy Spaghettini With Sea Urchin and Tomatoes
Published May 12, 2009
Evan Sung for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
8 ounces dry spaghettini or spaghetti, or long fresh pasta such as tagliolini
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
6 cloves garlic, peeled
¼ to ½ teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
10 to 12 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes, preferably organic, halved
Sea salt
About 2 ½ ounces (1 small standard-size tray with about 20 pieces) sea urchin (see note)
Freshly grated zest of half an organic lemon (optional)
Small handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, freshly chopped
Nutritional analysis per serving
36 grams carbs; 41 milligrams cholesterol; 287 calories; 8 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 12 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 408 milligrams sodium; 10 grams protein; 2 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Break or cut pasta in half to help it cook evenly. Meanwhile, in a skillet large enough to hold pasta later on, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, reduce heat to low, and slowly cook on all sides, turning often, until cloves are lightly browned and caramelized, about 10 minutes.
- Step 2
Raise heat under skillet to medium, add chili flakes and cook, stirring, until toasted, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook, turning gently, just until wilted.
- Step 3
When water boils, add a couple of tablespoons of salt and pasta. Stir well and bring back to boil. Cook, stirring often. When pasta is cooked through but still firm, drain, reserving 1 cup cooking water.
- Step 4
Turn heat under skillet to low. Add about ¾ of the sea urchin to skillet with a sprinkle of salt and a splash of pasta cooking water. Add pasta to skillet and toss thoroughly but gently over low heat, adding pasta cooking water and more oil to taste if mixture is dry. Taste for salt and toss in lemon zest, if using, and parsley. Serve hot, decorating each serving with remaining sea urchin.
Cleaned sea urchin (uni) is available prepackaged in many Japanese markets, online at catalinaop.com and by special order at many fish markets.
Private Notes
Comments
Because forgot parsley while shopping I substituted higd quality dried seaweed for the parsley...amazing! Also garnished w/tobiko.
Use more Uni, 3 1/2 oz and put a dollop of Salmon roe on top of the pasta.
I found this recipe after buying the Uni at the fish market. I love sea urchin. I worried the tomatoes might obscure the urchin, but no. I used a can of cherry tomatoes. I hesitated but added them to the skillet with their liquid. Then added the uni, reserving about a third for the finish. No pasta water needed. Amazing texture and flavor.
Use more Uni, 3 1/2 oz and put a dollop of Salmon roe on top of the pasta.
This was absolutely delicious, I suspect even if one is not an uni afficianado! It was not at all “fishy” — just rgreat umami richness as the uni more or less dissolved into the liquid (try a nice French white burgundy with it!). We split it between two of us for dinner. It took almost all of my cup of reserved pasta water to get 8 oz of fresh long pasta fully coated and saucy. For a main-sized serving, next time I will just add all the uni into the sauce — the uni “garnish” at the end got a little lost on the plate. Yum!