Yuzu Cream Spaghetti
My idea was to replace lemon in the classic creamy lemon spaghetti I’ve seen many times with Japanese citrus, yuzu. My preferred citrus over all other types of citrus because of it’s floral essence and powerful zest.
This lemon-grapefruit hybrid brings complexity to a simple dish, featuring a shallot-infused cream and a soy sauce cured egg yolk. A spoonful of caviar on top for good measure.
Once you cut into the yolk and mix everything together, the sauce is so creamy it’s almost revolutionary.
Serves two.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter, unsalted
1 shallot, sliced into thin rings
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
250ml, or 1 cup, heavy cream or pure cream
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp + 1 tsp pure yuzu juice
1/2 cup grated parmesan
2 egg yolk
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp black caviar
Spaghetti, enough for two servings
Fine cooking salt
Method:
Prep: Bring a pot of water to high heat so that while you follow the next steps the water will be boiling at the right time to cook the pasta.
Cure the egg yolk: add soy sauce to a small bowl. Crack an egg and dispose of the egg whites (or keep for a whiskey sour!) Transfer the yolk into the bowl with soy sauce and set aside.
Infuse the cream: bring a medium saucepan to medium-low heat and add butter. Once it begins to bubble, add shallots and garlic. Saute for 3-5 minutes, or until soft and some golden caramelisation appears. Pour in the cream and water. Stir to combine then turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 20 minutes, then strain the solids out from the cream using a fine mesh strainer into a heat proof bowl. Discard the solids and keep the cream. Add a big pinch of salt to the cream and give it a stir.
Cook the pasta: Add a big pinch of salt to the boiling water and add pasta. Give it a stir and cook until al dente.
Meanwhile, add yuzu and make the sauce: bring a large fry pan to low heat and add the infused cream. Add yuzu and give it a stir.
Once the pasta is al dente, or when it’s nearly cooked through but still has a couple of minutes left, transfer spaghetti directly from the pot of water into the fry pan with yuzu cream using tongs. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water and add half of it into the fry pan along with the parmesan. Turn the heat up to medium-high and saute constantly, until a creamy sauce is formed. Add more pasta water if the spaghetti is not fully cooked through or if you want it more sauce-y. Once it is creamy, luscious and the spaghetti is cooked, twirl onto tongs, creating a long spun shape.
Assemble: plate the spaghetti first, followed by the yolk (ditch the soy sauce after) and finished with caviar. To eat, cut the yolk open and spin the yolk and caviar around the spaghetti. The yolk and caviar add richness beyond words, the rest is an ultra creamy Japanese-inspired pasta!
