Name: The Ripper’s Pasta With Uni and Caviar
Yield: Serves 4 as an appetizer
Ingredients: 1/2 cup (4 ounces) sea urchin roe (uni); 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature; Fine sea salt and Espelette pepper, to taste; 4 ounces thin spaghetti; 2 teaspoons very finely chopped chives; 1 tablespoon finely grated Parmiggiano-Reggiano cheese; Freshly ground white pepper to taste; 1/2 lemon, seeds removed; 1 ounce Iranian osetra caviar or best available (optional)

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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone

Eric Ripert's original version of this dish at Le Bernardin in NYC is prepared with half as much pasta—usually super-delicate angel hair—and is painstakingly and exquisitely plated. I’ve doubled the pasta here to make it more of a family-style dish; there is still enough sauce to coat each strand of spaghetti. A few judicious pinches of bonito flakes make an economical and visually appealing substitute for the pricy caviar, and the dish can also stand with no garnish at all.

Recipe notes

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