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Bottarga
Once
known as the poor man's caviar, the bottarga is the salted, pressed and
dried roe of either the tonno (tuna) or mugine (gray
mullet). It is a specialty that comes from both Sardinia and Sicily. The
long, fat roe sack is salted and massaged by hand, over several weeks, to
eliminate air pockets. The roe is then pressed using wooden planks, and then
it is put under stone or marble weights. It is then sun dried for a couple
of months.
While someone thinks that the practice of
preserving the tuna or mullet roe comes from the Byzantines, the practice
actually goes farther back to ancient, possibly even pre-historic
times. The same process is also used in Turkey, Egypt, and even in coastal
areas of Asia.
Bottarga di Muggine (Grey Mullet Roe) - From Cabras - whole
by Sapori del Salento
This dried salted roe made by the Manca brothers is, without
any doubt, the best bottarga in the world.
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 Arabs, during their domination,
introduced in the Sardinian cuisine the bottarga, the dried salted eggs of
the Mullet. Bottarga from Sardinia is on sale at:
www.gustiamo.com
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Bottarga di Tonno (Tuna Roe) from Erice by Sapori del Salento
Vincenzo Macrì, from the fish preserving company Tre Torri, is among the few
people able to procure a part of the supply of the local tuna, fished in the
nearby island of Favignana, from the demands of the Japanese and American
markets. This way he manages to offer a bottarga (dried and salted roe) made
from local tuna eggs, when the majority of the ones on the market are
obtained from Atlantic tuna.
The term bottarga, from the Arab bot-ah-rik, means "raw fish eggs" or "uovo
di tonno" (tuna egg) as it is known in Italian.
The whole egg sacs are properly washed and salted, and then put to dry in
the sun. Nothing is simpler than this food so it depends upon top-quality
fish eggs. The final product's taste and quality depends upon the balance in
the salting process and the drying, which must be done very gently to avoid
oversalting and dessication. Easy to say, very hard to do. A pinch of salt
less than necessary, and the precious sac rots; a day longer in the sun, and
it dries up.
Dried tuna roe has a flavor that is stronger than grey mullet roe, but it's
just as adaptable. It 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.
Bottarga from Sicily is on sale at: www.gustiamo.com
(c) 1997-2008 E. Massetti
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