Name: Crostíní with Sardinian Caviar, Tomato, and Celery
Ingredients: day-old baguette; extra virgin olive oil; mullet bottarga; flat-leaf parsley; celery ribs; cherry tomatoes; pepper; lemon juice; salt; unsalted butter

Paula Wolfert

Crostíní with Sardinian Caviar, Tomato, and Celery

Preparation info

Difficulty
Easy
Serves
4

Appears in

The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen

By Paula Wolfert

Published 2003

About

Sardinian bottarga, or mullet roe, should be treated like truffles—you only need a little to make a great dish, but the more the better. The bottarga is marinated in olive oil to soften its texture. For an ultimate food experience, slice bottarga at the last minute over pasta, white beans, risotto, or scrambled eggs. This bottarga recipe was given to me by Luca, the owner of the Duomo Libreria in Iglesias, Sardinia. This is the way his mother prepared crostíní with bottarga at home.

Ingredients

½ ounces mullet bottarga
Extra virgin olive oil
Half a day-old baguette, cut into 12 slices ¼ inch thick
8 cherry tomatoes
2 celery ribs
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

Method

Use a swivel-bladed vegetable peeler to cut the mullet bottarga into very thin slices. Soak in olive oil until ready to use.
Lightly brush the bread slices with olive oil. Toast on a sheet pan in a 375°F oven, turning once, until golden, about 8 minutes.
Just before serving, peel, halve, seed, and dice the tomatoes. String the celery Using a mandoline, slice the celery into paper-thin strips.
In a bowl, combine the bottarga, tomato, celery, and parsley. Add a pinch of salt, a good sprinkling of pepper, and the lemon juice; toss gently. Butter the bread slices, top with the bottarga mixture, and serve.

Sardinian Caviar: Bottarga di Muggine

Bottarga dí muggíne is a form of pressed and dried grey mullet roe produced in Spain, Sardinia, Greece, France, Turkey, and Tunisia and often sold covered with paraffin or some type of shrink wrapping.

While Sicilian bottarga made from tuna roe is salty, sharp, and pungent, good-quality grey mullet bottarga is mellow and almond flavored. It is also usually less salty than tuna bottarga and may require some additional seasoning.

When bottarga di muggine is moist, it is amber in color. It turns dark as it ages or as a result of overchilling. It has a defined shelf life, so be sure to check the date. Once a package is open, keep it well wrapped and use within the week.

You can purchase moist slabs of Sardinian bottarga di muggine from a good Italian market or over the Internet (see Mail Order Sources).

The word bottarga comes from an Arabic word bot/ah/rík, which means “raw fish eggs.” Bottarga in slabs is a wonderful product. In the near future don't be surprised to find not only slabs of Sardinian bottarga, but Spanish huevo de Mujol, Greek avogotarha, French poutargue, Tunisian botarga, and Turkish kaviar at high-end specialty stores in your area.

Preparation info

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Ingredients

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