Spaghetti with sea urchins 

Sea urchins have a very particular flavor. Present this dish to your guests and they will be grateful. Once upon a time there was a sea urchin. The sea urchin and his family lived on an island called Atlantis. This is how children's stories begin. And it takes a fairy tale to tell the story of sea urchins. A history of 450 million years. You got it right 450 million years. Corals, sea urchins are culinary delicacies all over the world, particularly in Japan, where its eggs can be sold at retail up to 360 euros per kg. In Mediterranean cuisines it is often eaten raw, or with lemon. In Italian menus you find them very often combined with pasta such as spaghetti.

Ingredients

Spaghetti 300 g 

Sea urchins 15 

Extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons 

Parsley to taste 

Salt to taste 

Pepper to taste 

Cherry tomatoes 10 

Fresh chili pepper to taste

Preparation

Holding the curls with a hand protected by a thick glove or cloth, open them with the appropriate tool. Rinse the entrails and with the help of a teaspoon remove the coral (the orange part). Put them in a container covered with 10cl of white wine and let stand for 30 minutes. Split the cherry tomatoes into 4 parts. In a pan fry the garlic and fresh chilli, add the tomatoes adjusted with salt, and cook. Boil the spaghetti in a pot with plenty of salted water. Meanwhile, drain the corals from the white wine. At two minutes of cooking, drain the spaghetti, sauté in a pan with the cherry tomatoes and add the corals, a ladle of pasta cooking water, chopped parsley. Sauté for a few seconds add pepper and serve.

Recommendations

The seasoning with sea urchins, very common in Sicilian cuisine, is particularly suitable for the summer season, when the urchins are harvested fresh along the coasts. Out of season you can resort to the frozen product which, despite having a less intense aroma, guarantees an excellent result.

Note

The harvest of sea urchins runs from November to April.