Cabras Mullet Bottarga

The ancient fishery that still exists in the coastal pools surrounding Cabras is practiced from May to September, the fishermen descending into lagoons enclosed by reeds. These fishermen, in groups of 12 to 15, use a net to surround the mullet. The few that escape the net are then caught by hand by the more talented fishermen. The roe of these mullets is used to make bottarga and the meat is used to make merka, salted filets of ancient Phoenician origin, and su pisci affumau, a product that is smoked with helichrysum branches. The Bottarga is translucent and of amber colour, reminiscent of an antique jewel. It shows delicate salty and nutty notes; its flavour is enticing, determined, with a slightly bitter-salty taste of strong character. Bottarga is made from the ovary sack with the roe of the female mullet. The traditional production process giving it all the right flavour characteristics foresees the careful removal of the ovary sacks without damaging it, its washing in salted water in order to eliminate residual blood and the subsequent resting under salt for a variable period according to the size and the temperature of the environment. Before being ready for use the bottarga needs to undergo a drying process between 4-15 days in the windy climate of Cabras, in Sardinian Oristano province.