Pasta with Aquatir Caviar: A Creamy Tagliolini Recipe for Two

Butter, crème fraîche and a spoonful of black caviar turn a simple pasta dish into a special dinner for two. In this recipe, fine tagliolini or thin spaghetti is coated with butter and crème fraîche, then finished with Aquatir Russian Sturgeon caviar. The caviar is added after the pasta has been plated, rather than cooked in the sauce.

Ingredients for two

• 160 g dried tagliolini or thin spaghetti
• 20 g unsalted butter
• 60 g crème fraîche
• 30 g Aquatir Russian Sturgeon caviar
• Several tablespoons of reserved pasta water, as needed
• A few finely cut chives, optional
• A little salt for the cooking water

Allow approximately 20 minutes. The recipe contains fish, milk and wheat; some pasta also contains egg, so check the packet. Use a plain pasta rather than one flavoured with herbs, squid ink or lemon for the first version.

Why Russian Sturgeon caviar?

Aquatir describes its Russian Sturgeon caviar as creamy and nutty, with delicate briny notes. The mild sauce lets those flavours come through. You can also explore Bester caviar, but keep the base unchanged if you want to compare the two varieties.

How to make caviar pasta

1. Keep the caviar refrigerated according to its label while you prepare the pasta. Set out two serving plates.
2. Cook the pasta in gently salted water according to the packet instructions. Before draining, reserve a cup of the cooking water.
3. Melt the butter in a wide pan over low heat. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the crème fraîche with two tablespoons of pasta water.
4. Add the drained pasta and toss gently. Add more pasta water a spoonful at a time until the sauce lightly coats the strands. It should not form a heavy pool.
5. Divide between the plates. Let the pasta cool briefly so it is no longer piping hot before adding the caviar.
6. Top each plate with 15 g of caviar and, if desired, a few chive pieces. Serve immediately after finishing.

What to leave out

Begin without Parmesan, garlic, chilli or lemon juice. Each can be delicious in other pasta dishes, but together they can make the delicate topping hard to distinguish. Taste the sauce before adding further salt, remembering that the caviar has its own salty character.

Do not stir the caviar into a simmering sauce. Keeping it as a final topping preserves the contrast between the pasta and the pearls. At the table, each person can combine a little caviar with a forkful of pasta.

Serve as a starter or a main course

The quantities above make two modest main portions. For four small starters, divide the same pasta and 30 g of caviar between four plates, giving 7.5 g per person. Decide how many portions to serve before cooking so all plates can be finished together.

For a lighter first course, try our cucumber canapés. Browse the Aquatir caviar range to plan a menu that highlights a single variety or compares two different textures.