Tagliolini with Lemon Butter and Caviar
Pasta with caviar sounds like showing off, but it's one of the most coherent dishes you can make from a tin of caviar. The butter rounds things out, the lemon lifts, the caviar seasons. There's only one rule that matters: the caviar never cooks. It goes on the plate at the very end, never in the pot.
Ingredients for 2
- 200 g tagliolini or tagliatelle
- 80 g cold butter, cubed
- zest of half an organic lemon plus a squeeze of juice
- 50 g caviar – we like our Imperial Baerii for this
- salt for the pasta water, nothing else
How it's done
Cook the pasta in well-salted water until al dente. Scoop out a cup of pasta water before draining – you'll need it in a moment.
Return the pasta to the pot, heat off. Stir in the cold butter piece by piece with a splash of pasta water until you have a glossy, silky sauce. Add the lemon zest and a small squeeze of juice. Taste, but salt carefully.
Divide between warmed plates, wait a minute, then place the caviar in the centre. Fold it in at the table if you like. The residual warmth is enough to open up the aromas without cooking the pearls.
Our tip
No parmesan. Really. Cheese and caviar fight for the same role on the plate, and both lose.
