The classic bottarga is made from mullet or tuna eggs, but you can find on the market bottargas made with eggs of salmon, swordfish or other fish (bred or caught), which are treated with traditional processes and subjected to salting, pressing and seasoning for a period that can vary from four to five months. In Italy, the mullet bottarga (flat-headed grey cephalo, Mugil cephalus) is produced mainly in Sardinia: the bottarga of Cagliari, Tortolì, Sant’Antioco, Marceddì di Terralba are known and appreciated internationally, but the best known is that of the Cabras ponds. In Sicily and Sardinia it is produced in two types Mullet Bottarga and Tuna Bottarga.
The history of bottarga overlaps with that of the fishermen who prepared and consumed this food for centuries. Its characteristic long shelf life, the easy availability and in particular, the low cost of the raw material and the unmistakable taste of the finished product, have made this food the ideal complement for bread during the long days spent offshore. In fact, traditionally, eggs and other entrails of fish such as tuna, mullet or swordfish were rightfully donated to fishermen. Nowadays, Bottarga, along with numerous other fresh and half-finished products of the fishing industry, is included in the list of P.A.T published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Traditional Agricultural Products) and has transformed from poor food suitable for fishermen to the undisputed protagonist of Italian cuisine, gourmet food now known and appreciated all over the world.
It is common practice to argue that the etymology of the term bottarga derives from the Arabic batarekh (بطارخ), a common word still used in modern Arabic to refer to fish eggs. The Arabs, already from the first centuries of the Middle Ages, during their travels in the Mediterranean shared with the local peoples, which nowadays we call Spaniards, Catalans, Sardinians and Sicilians, the knowledge related to the incredible techniques of preparation and conservation of food that they had acquired over the centuries. They are also credited with enriching the gastronomic vocabulary of the Mediterranean area with new terms that were until then unknown, useful to indicate the raw materials until then foreign to the region. The bottarga, then, from the coasts of North Africa spread to Sicily and Sardinia and later established itself in Provence and in Mediterranean France where it is called Boutargue. In Greece, the word byzantine avgotaraho (αυγοτάραχο) is used to refer to dried and salted fish eggs, which is still produced by mullet caught in Greek lagoons and served in typical taverns accompanied by a glass of fresh retsina.
From Japan to Taiwan, the bottarga has a very good reputation. Karasumi is an expensive Japanese delicacy and is consumed during fine ceremonies while sipping sake. The eastern analogue has a more tender consistency and a lighter appearance than the Mediterranean mullet bottarga. Batarekh, known as Egyptian caviar, is highly prized by the most demanding palates in Egypt and is made using the same process and raw materials as the Italian preparation. The range of production was mainly located on the Mediterranean coast of the country but since over-fishing has run out of reserves of large cephalus, nowadays smaller fish and other local fish species (sea bass and others) are used. The ovarian sacs, being smaller, are tied together to create pseudo-sausages from the larger size. After cutting the batarekh you can clearly see that it is formed by numerous small overlapping ovarian sacs.
Although this specialty in the Sardinian language is called butàriga, a term that presents a strong assonance with the Arabic word, its realization from fish eggs is probably a much older technique, dating perhaps to the Nuragic era. It seems that the origin of the product is attributable to the Phoenician civilization that developed on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea and then spread in Sardinia from the 9th century BC. It is known, in fact, that the economy of the Phoenician colonies settled on the island that interacted with the local populations, was based mainly on salt (and products stored in salt) and on fishmongers. They became active fishermen and fish farmers, shellfish and fish farmers, including mullet, in the beginning using the lagoons present in the territory and later, developing and improving aquaculture techniques.
The mullet bottarga is produced using the gonads of Mugil cephalus,a typically coastal Mediterranean species, which lives on sandy seabeds and prefers lagoon brackish environment. Only in this species do the ovarian sacs have dimensions and characteristics of thickness of the ovarian membrane suitable for salting. The processing takes place in summer, during which the mullets, with the ovarian bags laden with ripe eggs, reach an ideal size. The production technology provides that after capture, they are carefully selected before evisceration and manual extraction of eggs. The extraction phase of the moustaches,which can weigh up to 300–400 grams, is extremely delicate. It is important to act very carefully in such a way as not to damage the bag or engrave the coating that encloses the eggs and thus compromise the subsequent salting. Once extracted, the eggs are washed with plenty of water and ice and then cleaned from any residue.
During salting, the ovaries are salted with medium-fine sea salt, arranged in layers superimposed on horizontal wooden plates. The duration of the salting is variable in relation to the size of the individual pieces and is established by the master salter through careful evaluation and monitoring of the condition of the product. The purpose of this phase is to eliminate, as soon as possible, the water present to avoid the deterioration of the product. Salting can commonly be combined with sun-drying to facilitate dehydration. This process takes about two weeks. There are no two equal bottarga: each piece is unique and must be checked periodically in order to get the best results. The ovaries are then washed in saline saturated solution and arranged in layers on wooden shelves and pressed to help the brine and excess liquids move away. This process is used to prevent the formation of micro-cavities within the product and to allow the penetration and uniform diffusion of salt.
Following the traditional procedure, after pressing they are transferred to the aging room and lying on wooden shelves or hung in racks. The aging phase is extremely variable in relation to numerous factors such as the season and the external weather conditions, the micro-climate conditions of the premises, the size of the ovaries. Typically the drying and seasoning process takes place in large rooms where the action of natural ventilation is exploited. In some cases, mechanical means of ventilation may be used to facilitate the process; in others the process can take place entirely in rooms where environmental parameters are controlled for a period of 45 to 90 days. This phase allows the bottarga to take on the metal scent and the characteristic amber color typical and to intensify its taste with the progress of the seasoning. During this period the bottarga can always be consumed at any time by enriching the plates at any time, generally used as a thin cut appetizer served on slices of fresh bread or toasted.
When the bottarga is still fresh you should not miss the opportunity to consume it naturally. The bottarga, both mullet and tuna, must be sliced thin as if it were a carpaccio and must be served with strictly extra virgin olive oil in a simple masterpiece that contains an explosion of taste. If you have Sardinian friends who appreciate the bottarga, you will be without the chance to taste a cold appetizer of bottarga and fresh artichokes. It is preferable to use small and freshly picked artichokes, to which only the most leathery external bracts equipped with thorns, obtaining part of the pendulum, the receptacle and the innermost bracts. The artichokes should be sliced very thinly and stored in a bath of water and lemon. Serve in a tray alternately with slices of bottarga and artichokes that had previously been drained. Sprinkle with extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of black pepper and salt (if necessary). To customize the artichoke and bottarga salad you can add aromatic notes with lemon zest or fresh mint leaves.
Spaghetti (or Linguine) with clams and bottarga are a typical Sardinian dish that lends itself to numerous associations with cherry tomatoes, zucchini, fresh hot peppers. Spaghetti alla Bottarga is a classic of Italian cuisine, perhaps the most popular and tastiest recipe based on bottarga, one of those that you should try to believe.
SPAGHETTI ALLA BOTTARGA
Ingredients
350g Spaghetti better if drawn in bronze
50g seasoned Bottarga
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
A fine grater
A large bowl
Optional:
Fresh garlic
Fresh hot peppers
Fresh parsley
Lemon zest
Preparation
Bring water to a medium-sized pot. Add 1 litre of water, 10 grams of salt for every 100 grams of dried pasta. In a bowl large enough to allow you to hold all the dough and mix it comfortably, finely grate a generous dose of bottarga and set aside. Drain the pasta when it has raged the desired level of cooking leaving it quite moist and keeping aside a ladle of cooking water. Place the cooked pasta in the bowl where we grated the bottarga and keep it with extra virgin olive oil and a little cooking water, Add another generous dose of bottarga and if the pasta turns out to be dry add a few tablespoons of cooking water to leave the dough wrapped in a delicious cream. Serve warm, depending on your taste with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil flavored with lemon.
