Banza Spaghetti with Uni Cream and Fresh Uni

Uni Cream Sauce and Fresh Uni Finish

Gentle heat preserves uni’s sweetness and keeps the cream sauce smooth. Reserving some whole lobes adds a cool, delicate contrast to the warm pasta.

Ingredients

• 240 g fresh uni suitable for raw consumption, divided
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
• to taste fine sea salt

Instructions

1. Keep the uni refrigerated while preparing the other ingredients. Reserve about 80 g of the most intact lobes for topping.
2. Blend the remaining 160 g uni with 1/4 cup of the cream until smooth, or mash thoroughly and pass through a fine sieve.
3. Warm the remaining 1/2 cup cream in a wide pan over medium-low heat until steaming with small bubbles at the edges, 2–3 minutes. Do not reduce it heavily.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the uni mixture. Keep warm without simmering; the sauce will be loosened and emulsified with pasta water during assembly.
5. Add the lemon juice and taste before adding salt, since uni can be quite briny. Keep the reserved topping chilled until plating.

Notes

• Choose uni that smells clean and ocean-sweet, not sharply fishy or ammonia-like.
• Do not boil the sauce after adding the uni; excessive heat can make it grainy and dull its flavor.
• The fresh topping is raw seafood. For anyone avoiding raw seafood, omit the raw finish and use fully cooked seafood instead.

Banza Spaghetti

Chickpea spaghetti gives the rich sauce a substantial base. Finishing it gently with a little cooking water creates a coating rather than a heavy pool of cream.

Ingredients

• 12 oz Banza chickpea spaghetti, gluten-free
• as needed water for boiling
• to taste salt for pasta water

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt moderately. Add the spaghetti, stir gently to separate the strands, and cook according to the package directions, checking early for a just-tender center.
2. Reserve 1 cup of cooking water, then drain the spaghetti well. Do not rinse.
3. Immediately add the spaghetti to the warm uni cream sauce off the heat. Add 2 tablespoons of cooking water and toss gently with tongs, lifting rather than vigorously stirring.
4. Add more cooking water a tablespoon at a time until the sauce is glossy and coats the strands. If necessary, return to very low heat briefly, without letting the sauce simmer.
5. Taste and adjust salt or lemon. Leave the sauce slightly loose, as the pasta will absorb it on the way to the table.

Notes

• Chickpea pasta can become fragile when overcooked; avoid a prolonged second cooking in the sauce.

Overall Timing / Workflow

Preparing the sauce while the water heats lets the pasta go straight from the pot into its coating, minimizing sticking and overcooking.

Instructions

1. 0:00 — Put the pasta water on to boil and warm four serving bowls with hot water.
2. 0:05 — Divide the uni and blend the sauce portion with cream. Keep the topping refrigerated.
3. 0:10 — Start cooking the spaghetti. During its final few minutes, warm the remaining cream and incorporate the blended uni off the heat.
4. 0:20 — Reserve pasta water, drain, and gently toss the spaghetti with the sauce. Adjust consistency and seasoning, then plate immediately.

Plating

Warm bowls keep the cream fluid, while a restrained finish lets the uni remain the focus.

Instructions

1. Empty and dry the warmed bowls. Divide the spaghetti among them, gently gathering it into loose nests.
2. Spoon any remaining sauce over the strands and arrange the reserved uni lobes on top.
3. Serve immediately, without additional cheese or heavy garnishes.

Leftover Path

Uni is best eaten fresh, and gentle reheating limits sauce separation and pasta breakage.

Instructions

1. Preferably prepare only as much as will be eaten immediately. Refrigerate any leftovers promptly in a shallow airtight container, within 2 hours.
2. Use refrigerated leftovers within 24 hours. Do not save raw uni topping separately for a later garnish.
3. Reheat a small portion gently in a covered pan with a splash of water, folding carefully, until it reaches 165°F throughout. Any uni topping should be reheated with the pasta.
4. Do not freeze the assembled dish; both the sauce and pasta lose their texture.