Squid Ink Chitarra with Sea Urchin, Dungeness Crab, and Jalapeño

Name: Squid Ink Chitarra with Sea Urchin, Dungeness Crab, and Jalapeño
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients: 1/4 cup Toasted Pine Nuts (see page 63); 6 jalapeño peppers, stems removed; 1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion); 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; Kosher salt; 16 whole sea urchin tongues; 8 ounces lump crab meat; 1/2 cup finishing-quality extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling; 1/2 pound black Spaghetti alla Chitarra (page 172), or quality store-bought squid ink pasta; 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice; 1 teaspoon Maldon sea salt or another flaky sea salt, such as fleur de sel, plus more for topping the pasta

January 26, 2012

Matt makes a point to return to Italy every year for inspiration. On a recent trip, he happily returned with the idea for this sea urchin pasta dish, the only cold pasta we serve. I love sea urchins, or ricci. They are a delicacy of many seaside regions in Italy, such as Puglia and Sicily, but many aficionados say that the best sea urchins come from the waters off Southern California. Cooked lump crab meat is readily available at seafood stores and in the seafood sections of high-end grocery stores.

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