This first time I saw sea urchins was in Halkidiki (where our family’s summer home is), clinging to rocks under the sea.
Another sea urchin memory was eating them on the half-shell with a squeeze of lemon juice in Mykonos (summer ’92).
Fast forward to 2009, first visit to Crete and I have a big bowl of sea urchin with lemon juice and lots of crusty bread. To die for!
Fast forward to 2018, I visit the island of Kastelorizo and order sea urchin pasta after getting jealous from seeing a table of Italians eat it.
We’ve come to the inspiration for today’s dish. Although sea urchin is most often served raw, this dish still gives you the briny essence of sea urchin as it’s tossed with the pasta and sauce before plating.
I’ve served this for friends and at a Greek Supper Club, umami plus plus!
Sea Urchin Pasta
(serves 4)
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 medium onion, peeled and pureed using box grater
2 cups of grated ripe tomatoes (or equivalent from canned plum tomatoes)
sea salt and pepper to taste
300 gr. of spaghetti or linguine
4-6 oz. of sea urchin/uni, mashed with a fork
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
Optional Garnish
thin ribbons of nori sheets
- Place your butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5-6 minutes. Now add the tomatoes, some salt and pepper and stir in.
- Turn down the heat to just below medium, simmer low for about 30 minutes or until sauce is thick.
- Meanwhile, place a pot of water on your stovetop and bring to a boil. Add salt to water and when water returns to a boil, add the pasta and cook for about 6 minutes.
- Drain pasta (reserve some pasta water and add to the tomato sauce along with the sea urchin and parsley. Toss until everything is incorporated, add a ladle of pasta water if needed.
- Divide and plate.
