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Creamy uni pasta with spaghetti, garnished with fresh uni and green shiso.
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Uni Pasta

Uni pasta is a creamy Japanese pasta dish that melds the sweet, briny flavor of sea urchin roe with rich cream to make for a luxurious restaurant-style dish that's easy enough to do at home.
Course Entree
Cuisine Japanese-Western
Keyword pasta, seafood
Level Intermediate
Main Ingredient Pasta, Shellfish
Diet Low Sugar, Pescatarian
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 17 minutes
Servings 2 servings
Calories 873kcal

Ingredients

  • 150 grams uni (set 1/4 aside for garnish)
  • ⅓ cup light cream (12-24% fat)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 7 grams garlic (1 large clove, finely minced)
  • 5 grams anchovy filets (2 filets finely minced)
  • ¼ cup sake
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 200 grams spaghetti
  • 5 leaves green shiso (thinly sliced for garnish)
Grams + US Cups - Ounces + US Cups

Instructions

  • Set aside 1/4 of the uni and then put the rest in a bowl and mash it with a whisk; it doesn't need to be totally smooth. Then you want to gently whisk in the cream.
    150 grams uni, 1/3 cup light cream
    Mash the sea urchin and stir in the cream.
  • Bring 10 cups of water to a boil and add 1 teaspoon of salt.
    Salting boiling water for pasta.
  • Add the pasta and boil for 2 minutes, less than the time specified on the package. For example, my spaghetti takes 11 minutes to cook, so I'm going to set the timer for 9 minutes.
    200 grams spaghetti
  • About 3 minutes before the pasta is done, add a frying pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil, garlic, and anchovy. Saute until the garlic is fragrant but hasn't started to brown yet.
    2 tablespoons olive oil, 7 grams garlic, 5 grams anchovy filets
    Sauteeing garlic and anchovies in olive oil.
  • Turn down the heat and add the soy sauce; it will spatter, so be careful. When most of the liquid is gone, add the sake and then, turn the heat back up and bring the mixture to a boil to burn off the alcohol.
    1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1/4 cup sake
    Browning soy sauce in frying pan while pasta boils on the other burner.
  • When the timer for the pasta is up, transfer it directly to the pan with the garlic, and then add a ladleful of pasta water. Cook the pasta like risotto, adding additional pasta water as needed and stirring until it reaches your desired doneness (another 2-3 minutes).
    Tossing spaghetti with the olive oil and garlic.
  • Stir in the uni and cream and toss to coat the pasta until it forms a creamy sauce.
    Stirring in uni cream sauce.
  • Serve the uni pasta topped with a few pieces of uni and garnish with fresh shiso cut into a chiffonade (thinly sliced).
    5 leaves green shiso
    Garnishing with fresh sea urchin and green shiso.

Nutrition

Calories: 873kcal | Carbohydrates: 121g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 432mg | Potassium: 351mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 243IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 145mg | Iron: 3mg