Bottarga is a fishy condiment, not some tropical disease affecting body parts best left unmentioned. It is, in fact, the roe sac of a fish, that has been salted and dried. Roe are the eggs. Bottarga is considered quite the delicacy and packs a real fishy punch. Think Parmesan. Now think cheese of the sea. Grated, sliced thinly, finely chopped—it’s a fine addition to many plates of food. Cooking it would kill its flavour but you can gently warm it. Commercially, Bottarga ain’t cheap. But it’s easy enough to make a decent version at home. Making Bottarga has been on my charcuterie to-do list for a while. Here I used scallop roe.

Method

Soak the roe overnight in a 10% salt solution, i.e. 10g salt for every 1l cold water. Next morning, remove the roe from the salt water and pat dry with kitchen roll. On a small tray, pour sea salt flakes to create a flat and even bed for the roe. Place the roe on top so they’re not touching each other. Cover the roe with salt. Place the tray in the fridge.

After 24 hours, remove the roe from the salt. Gently brush away any salt clinging on for dear life. Pat the roe dry. Rinse the tray, discarding the salt. Dry the tray and cover the roe with fresh salt and return to the fridge. Repeat this process for 3 to 4 days after which time the roes will have firmed up.

Place the roe in a single layer of cheese cloth and hang in a cool dry place for 10 to 15 days; longer if desired. I didn’t want to wait so I dehydrated the roe on a cooling rack in the oven at 50C for 48 hours. I then let them hang out for another 48 hours before use.