SPAGHETTI WITH AVGOTARAHO AND LEMON-FLAVOURED BUTTER       

 According to Wikipaedia,  the word in most languages derives from Arabic butarih, in French it is boutargue or poutargue, in Italian butarga.   The Greek word Avgotaraho comes from the Byzantine Greek ωοταριχον  (ωον = egg + ταριχον = pickled fish).
In Greece the mature ovaries of the Flathead Mullet are washed, salted and dried in the sun and sealed in a double beeswax coating.   Avgotaraho Messolonghiou is a European and Greek Protected Designation of Origin, one of the very few sea food products with a PDC.

 

           Avgotaraho is served, thinly sliced on pieces of buttered toast and sprinkled with lemon juice, or grated over salads or pasta dishes.

This is an easy and delightful dish, if you like avgotaraho.

500 g (1 lb) spaghetti, boiled al dente in tasty vegetable stock

360 ml (1 ½ cup)  spaghetti liquid

A tiny piece of lemon peel

 A little lemon juice (optional)

½ -1 stick avgotaraho, coarsely grated

Lemon-flavoured butter:

2 tbsp butter at room temperature

Salt and pepper

A little Cayenne pepper (optional)

Lemon juice to taste

A few gratings of lemon rind

          First prepare the lemon-flavoured butter.  Combine all the ingredients, except the lemon juice, and mix well together. Then add the lemon juice, a little at a time, until you have reached the desired taste.  You can make it ahead of time and refrigerate it.

         Add the lemon-flavoured butter to the hot spaghetti, toss and keep hot.  In a  saucepan bring the reserved spaghetti water with the lemon peel to the boil, add the grated avgotaraho and simmer briefly, just to warm up;  remove the lemon peel, sprinkle with freshly grated black pepper, pour over the spaghetti and toss.

  

       One could just serve the spaghetti tossed with lemon-flavoured butter, sprinkled with grated avgotaraho, a touch of Cayenne, if using, and very little lemon juice.

(Serves 4-6)