 The Bottarga
Photo © poluz
Bottarga, or salted mullet roe, is one of the most ancient
processed foods. The Egyptians considered it a delicacy and as
many as 5000 years ago they conserved mullet roe in paraffin.
Bottarga jars have been found in the pyramids with their
contents pretty much intact.
Bottarga is made from the roe pouch of mullet, tuna or
swordfish. In Italy it is produced mainly in Sardinia (the
Bottarga from Cabras is well known), in Orbetello (Tuscany’s
Maremma coastal region), in Sicily (Milazzo and Trapani), and in
Calabria.
Similar specialties are produced also in other parts of the
Mediterranean:"batarekh" in Egypt and "poutargue" in Provence. It is perhaps for this reason that Bottarga is
nicknamed the "Caviar of the Mediterranean." It appears that the
Phoenicians were the first to produce Bottarga. But the name
itself comes from Arabic: "butarikh," meaning salted roe.
Bottarga preparation is very simple and artisanal. The pouches
with the mullet roe are kept in brine from 8 to 20 hours,
depending on their size. They are then salted on all sides, tied
with string and placed on a plank. A weight is then placed on
them for 40 days during which they will be salted every day. The
weight and the salt squeezes all the blood and the liquids from
the roe. In the next phase, the pouches, which by then have
taken an oblong shape and have a thickness of about 1.5 to 2
inches, are tied lengthwise and hung to dry for another 30 to 40
days, depending on their weight.
Bottarga used to be the staple food of fishermen because it kept
so well and could be taken on long fishing trips.
Recipe: Spaghetti con bottarga.
 Bottarga di Muggine (Grey Mullet
Roe) - From Cabras - Whole
Grey mullet is, perhaps more than any other animal, what it
eats. In the pond in Cabras, where these grey mullet are raised,
the fish eat naturally and healthfully.
The mullet's eggs, after being extracted, washed and purified,
are put under salt and then hung to mature. At the right
moment--and the expertise of the Manca brothers is put to good
use in determining exactly when that is--the dried and salted
eggs that make bottarga are pressed and sent for distribution.
The color of the roe ranges from gold to dark amber. The saline
aroma is accompanied by notes of almond and musk. Oro di Cabras
has a smoothness that other bottarga can never achieve. A
smoothness exalted in the bottarga with su biddiu (in the local
Sardinian dialect: the bellybutton). Only the biggest and
healthiest grey mullets (one in thirty, on average) allow the
expert fisherman to extract the whole egg sac up to the
"bellybutton", the external belly part, thus avoiding any
contact between the eggs, hermetically protected inside the sac,
and the outside.
Bottarga can be eaten very simply with bread, after being sliced
in thin shreds and left to soften in olive oil for at least half
an hour, or in the classic Sardinian pasta dish Spaghetti Con La
Bottarga (always add the bottarga at the end on the dish, not in
the pan), or in fancier combinations. It is always delicious on
omelets, rice, and mashed potatoes.
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