Pasta

Uni Caviar Carbonara

March 9, 2022

I’ve been on a carbonara kick lately, so when I received a box of gorgeous caviar in the mail from Pearl Street Caviar the idea for this dish came to me instantly.

I intentionally used very few and very simple ingredients for the sauce so as not to overshadow the flavor of the uni and caviar. The egg yolks and cream provide richness, and when cooked correctly create a luxuriously velvety sauce. The aged parmesan adds a salty nutty complexity, and pumps up the umami from the uni. The pinch of grated garlic brings a bite that cuts through all of the fat with out taking over. But my favorite component has to be the briney pops of caviar.

Clearly this is a very fussy recipe for a very fussy dish.

If you’ve never made standard carbonara before, I suggest attempting that first to nail the technique before incorporating these high-end ingredients.

Uni Caviar Carbonara

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Ingredients

¾ lb dried spaghetti
4 oz sea urchin roe
½ oz caviar I used the Ossetra Plus from Pearl Street Caviar
4 egg yolks
⅓ cup heavy cream
½ cup 18-24 month aged parmesan cheese finely grated (fresh.. no pre-grated you know the drill) + more as needed
1 tbsp butter
1 small garlic clove finely grated

Instructions

This recipe will make 4 appetizer portions or 2 dinner portions. The sauce is extremely rich so the portions are intentionally much smaller than your average plate of pasta.
Inspect your uni for the biggest / most visually appealing pieces and set those aside for garnish. Reserve at least 8 pieces for garnish (2 per appetizer portion or 4 per dinner portion).
Combine egg yolks, heavy cream, uni, and grated garlic in a blender and blend until smooth. You can also use an immersion blender or food processor for this.
In a bowl, combine grated parmesan cheese and blended uni and egg mixture. Whisk until homogenous.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta al dente.
When the pasta is a few minutes shy of being done, carefully temper the egg and cheese mixture with about ¼ cup of pasta water. Slowly stream in the water while whisking constantly to avoid scrambling the eggs.
Preheat a large pan over very low heat for 30 seconds. Transfer the cooked pasta directly from the boiling water to the pan (keep the pasta water). Add the tempered uni and egg mixture to the pasta and continuously stir.
In order to achieve the proper sauce consistency, you need to gently cook the egg yolks in the sauce so that they thicken ever so slightly (like a custard). This can be achieved by the heat from the hot pasta, hot pasta water, and warm pan. Keep the pasta moving in the pan for 1-3 minutes until the sauce is thickened, adding pasta water as needed. Turn off the heat and move the pan to a cold burner if it gets too hot and the eggs are scrambling.
Taste your pasta. Add the butter and additional salt and grated parmesan if needed. Toss until the butter and cheese has melted and serve immediately.
Garnish with uni and a dollop of caviar.

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