This could very well be the best uni pasta recipe you'll ever make. It is creamy, cheesy, and garlicky--perfect to pair with your favorite bread and salad recipes!
My sea urchin pasta recipe has been tried and tested. It is a conglomeration of several uni pasta recipes on the web. But what makes this sea urchin recipe special is that it is creamy from the mouth-watering combination of blended whole whipping cream and uni "roe", cheesy from the addition of extra parmesan cheese, and garlicky from the generous amount of garlic I use in the recipe.
In this post, I'll be covering the following subtopics:
Are Sea Urchins Legal to Take in California?
If so, What are the Regulations?
Sea Urchins: How to Clean and What Part is Edible
My Sea Urchin Pasta Recipe
Are Sea Urchins Legal to Take in California?
Yes, as long as you have a sport fishing license. But if you're younger than 16 years of age, you don't need to have a license. In California, a sport fishing license costs a resident $58.58 in 2023 and is valid for 365 days from the date of purchase. The cost is substantially higher for a nonresident, which is at $158.25. For more information on 365-day sport fishing licenses in California, please click on the image directly below:
What are the Regulations?
The sea urchins we harvested to make this specific recipe are called pacific purple sea urchins. Both male and female sea urchins are harvested for their gonads (or uni). Purple sea urchins are smaller compared to red sea urchins which makes them less desirable. During our foraging trip on the coast, unfortunately we were only able to find the purples. They are yummy nonetheless.
According to page 44 of the 2023-2024 California Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations (which can be viewed and downloaded here), the daily bag limit for purple sea urchin is 40 gallons in the counties of Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma. Also, there is no possession limit for the species.
Sea Urchin: How to Clean and What Part is Edible?
The cleaning process is as follows:
Step 1: If the urchin's spines are especially long and prickly (ours were not), wear gloves (leather, etc.).
Step 2: One at a time, place the urchin on a counter or table top and use the dull side of a chef's knife to crack the top center of the uni. Give it a nice whack until the shell cracks. The goal here is to crack the shell, pry it open and NOT not too pulverize it.
Step 3: Once the shell is open, use a spoon to scoop the yellow or orange gonads off the inside of the shell, making sure not to include any unwanted materials such as broken piece of the shell, spines, intestines, etc.
Step 4: Rinse quickly in cold water, drain to dry, then store in the fridge until ready to use.
My Recipe for The Ultimate Sea Urchin Pasta
Ingredients
1 lb. dry pasta (spaghetti or fettucine)
2.5 tsp salt, divided
1 cup fresh raw uni (it took us about 3-4 gallons of purple sea urchins to ge this amount)
1 cup whole whipping cream (ok to sub with Mexican crema)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup onion or shallot, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine (I used Pinot Grigio in this recipe)
1/4 tsp pepper, ground
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 tbsp fresh parsley, finelly chopped (plus extra for garnish)
1 tbsp fresh chives or green onions, finely minced (plus extra for garnish)
Instructions
Cook pasta according to package instructions, plus 1/2 tsp salt. Cook until al dente.
Meanwhile, use a blender or food processor to blend the uni and whole whipping cream together until creamy and smooth. Set aside.
While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a large pan or skillet under medium heat.
Add onion and cook until it just starts to turn golden brown. Stir constantly to avoid burning.
Add garlic, stir, and cook for 1 minute.
Add white wine and cook until reduced to about 1/4 cup.
Remove from heat until pasta is cooked.
When pasta is ready, use a pair of tongs to transfer the pasta noodles from the boiling water directly to the pan with onion, garlic, and wine mixture.
Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water.
Set the wine mixture pan back to medium high heat.
Immediately add the uni/cream mixture to pan.
Working quickly, add salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, parsley, and chives.
Constantly stir and swirl the pasta until uniform and creamy and the pasta is cooked.
If pasta becomes too thick, add some or all of the reserved pasta water.
Serve warm.
Garnish if desired.
Already tried this recipe? Leave your comment below and share your experience in preparing my uni pasta recipe. What did you like and dislike?
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