Fish & Seafood
Squid Ink Mafaldine Pasta with Uni Butter
Description
Briny, savory uni butter is a delicious way to dress freshly cooked pasta — especially when you finish the dish with chef Brandon Boudet's extra-smoky dukkah.
Ingredients
- Dukkah
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon raw sesame seeds
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- Kosher salt
- Uni Butter
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ounce uni gonads
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
- ½ small garlic clove, finely grated
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 3/4 teaspoon lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- Pasta
- 10 - 12 ounces squid-ink mafaldine or other long dried pasta
- ½ cup finely chopped scallions
Directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. While the water is heating, make the dukkah: In a small dry skillet, cook the pine nuts, fennel seeds, and sesame seeds over medium heat, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a mortar and pestle and lightly crush, or place in a plastic bag and lightly crush with a rolling pin or skillet. Stir in the paprika and set dukkah aside.
- Make the uni butter: In a medium bowl, combine the butter, uni, oregano, garlic, red-pepper flakes, smoked paprika, lemon zest and juice, and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat the uni butter together until smooth. Set aside.
- Cook the pasta in boiling water until just al dente. Drain, reserving about 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water. In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of uni butter over medium heat. Add the scallions and cook, stirring often, until tender and lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the cooked pasta and the 1/4 cup of pasta water to the skillet along with 2 more tablespoons of uni butter. Toss to combine, then divide among shallow bowls and serve garnished with a light sprinkle of dukkah.
