Bottarga, dried mullet roe, is absolutely delicious grated and sliced in thin strips in this simple spaghetti dish with harissa and tiny Tunisian beldi (meaning traditionally produced) preserved lemons. Marc Berrebi, an entrepreneur and food hobbyist who makes this dish that originated in his native Tunisia but is influenced by Italy, says, “It is interesting to taste the melding of three strong ingredients: preserved lemon, harissa, and bottarga in small quantities.” Bottarga is also available at bottarga.net or koskas-fils.com.

　　

Ingredients

4 to 6 servings

　　8 ounces spaghetti

　　Salt to taste

　　4 to 6 tablespoons olive oil

　　2 cloves garlic, crushed

　　4 tiny beldi or 1 normal-sized preserved lemon, finely chopped, with seeds removed

　　1 tablespoon harissa (see page 33), or to taste

　　3 ounces bottarga

　　3 to 4 tablespoons grated dried bottarga

　　

Step 1

Fill a pot with water, and heat to boiling. Add the spaghetti and salt, and cook according to the package instructions.

　　

Step 2

While the spaghetti is cooking, heat the olive oil in a small frying pan. Add the garlic, preserved lemons, and harissa, and toss together until heated through.

　　

Step 3

Peel the wax from the bottarga, and cut crosswise into very thin slices.

　　

Step 4

When the spaghetti is al dente, drain, saving a bit of cooking water. Toss spaghetti with the garlic, harissa, and preserved lemon in a large bowl, adding water if needed to thin out. Mix the spaghetti with the sliced and the grated bottarga.

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