Recipe by Valentino Marcattilii: Spaghetti alla Chitarra with Shellfish, Seafood, Sea Urchins, and Bottarga
Ingredients for 4 servings
For the Pasta
- 350 gr of durum wheat semolina flour
- 2 whole eggs
- 1/2 glass of dry white wine
- A pinch of salt
For the Sauce
- 100 gr of mussel meat
- 100 gr of cleaned small squids
- 50 gr of fresh sea urchin pulp
- 50 gr of grated mullet roe (bottarga)
- Several peeled shrimps, keep the heads separate
- 1 crushed garlic clove
- 1 glass of dry martini
- 1 hot chili pepper
- The flesh of 2 ripe tomatoes, finely diced
- 1 zucchini, cut like the tomato
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Slightly chopped chervil and tarragon
Method
For the pasta, proceed as you would for tagliatelle. If necessary, add more semolina until the dough is quite hard. Let the dough rest for at least 1 hour.
Roll out the pasta fairly thick and cut the spaghetti using a guitar cutter or a pasta machine. Let the spaghetti dry, preferably hung up.
Sauté the garlic and chili in olive oil. When well-roasted, add the shrimp heads and let them brown. Deglaze with dry martini, let the alcohol evaporate for 20-30 seconds, squeeze and crush the heads to extract all the juice into the pan, and discard the shells. Add the shrimp tails, sea urchin pulp, tomato cubes, and small squids. Remove the garlic and chili (if whole).
Boil the spaghetti in plenty of salted water with the zucchini, keeping it al dente. Drain everything (keeping aside a cup of the cooking water) into the sauce and continue cooking for a few minutes, adding a little cooking water.
Finally, cream the spaghetti with the sea urchin pulp, bottarga, chopped herbs, and adjust with salt and pepper if necessary.
Divide into individual plates and finish with a drizzle of raw olive oil.
Photography by Paolo Castiglioni
