Mentaiko Butter Spaghetti with Shiso & Nori

⏱ 20 min · Serves 2

Japan's favourite 15-minute pasta: spicy cured cod roe stirred through silky butter and cream until it clings to every strand of spaghetti, then showered with crisp nori and peppery shiso. Salty, savoury and quietly luxurious.

Per serving: 735 kcal · 27.0g protein · 72.0g carbs · 37.0g fat

Ingredients

• 180g dried spaghetti
• 2 sacs mentaiko (spicy pollock roe), about 80g total
• 50g unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tbsp double cream
• 1 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp mirin
• 1 small garlic clove, finely grated (optional)
• 1 sheet nori, snipped into fine shreds
• 4 shiso leaves, finely shredded (or 2 spring onions, sliced)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Salt for the pasta water

Method

1. Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil and cook the spaghetti until just al dente, about 1 minute under the packet time.
2. Meanwhile, slit the mentaiko sacs lengthways and scrape the roe out with the back of a knife into a large heatproof bowl; discard the membranes.
3. Add the softened butter, cream, mayonnaise, soy sauce, lemon juice, mirin and grated garlic to the bowl and mash together into a loose, coral-coloured paste.
4. When the pasta is nearly ready, scoop out 100ml of the starchy cooking water and stir 2 tablespoons of it into the mentaiko paste to loosen it — warm, not hot, so the roe stays grainy rather than scrambling.
5. Drain the spaghetti and tip it straight into the bowl. Toss hard for 30 seconds, adding splashes of pasta water until the sauce is glossy and coats each strand.
6. Taste and adjust with a few drops of soy or lemon. Twirl into warm bowls, pile on the nori shreds and shiso, and finish with plenty of black pepper. Eat immediately.