Sea Urchin Spaghetti

Take a sneak peek inside upcoming cookbook, Malta by Simon Bajada.

“When writing about this dish, in my mind I’m exploring craggy rocks beside the Mediterranean, dodging urchins under foot while Malta’s sun beams down on me. This dish takes you to the seaside. The flavour of the sea penetrates through the pasta – a dish so simple that for me it typifies Maltese food, especially when served with crusty bread and a green salad. Purists might leave the lemon and mint out of the dish, but I love their freshness (if you prefer, you can substitute parsley for mint). The orange flesh inside sea urchins is actually a reproductive organ, sometimes deceivingly called roe. Its flavour is at its sweet and salty best before the urchins are preparing to spawn (different species do this at different times, but for many the best season to eat them is autumn). You can buy sea urchin removed from its spiny shells at good fishmongers.”

Serves 4-6

Preparation 40 minutes

Ingredients:

2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes

400g (14 oz) spaghetti

Salt and pepper

1 small onion, finely diced

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

How to:

3 tablespoons olive oil

Grated zest of ¼ lemon

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon chopped mint

150g (5 1/2 oz) sea urchin flesh

Score the tomatoes on their bases and grate with a box grater. Boil the spaghetti in well-salted water until al dente. Scoop out 200ml (7fl oz) of the cooking water before draining the pasta.

While the pasta is cooking, sauté the onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons of the oil in a frying pan over a low–medium heat.

When the onion is soft, add the tomato and some salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes until the tomato breaks down.

Now add the pasta, its water, lemon zest and juice, mint, the remaining oil and the sea urchin. Toss together until the urchin breaks apart and distributes through the pasta. Taste for seasoning and serve.