Uni Panini

 

Serves 2

A few days ago I had lunch with Alex Raij, the former executive chef of Tia Pol and El Quinto Pino, two closet sized bars that have been serving up some of New York’s most innovative yet traditional tapas.

This sandwich is inspired by one of her creations at El Quinto Pino. A skinny French baguette, spread with butter, topped with sea urchins and drizzled lightly with mustard oil before being clamped into a panini press, this sandwich has been described in the New York press as “like sex. Hot, warm sex”.

Sea urchins can be purchased in advance through any good fishmonger, or through Orkney Rose at Borough Market.

Ingredients

4 sea urchins (or as many as you like!)
a loaf of the best skinny french loaf you can find
some nice French unsalted butter
8 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
2 tsp Korean mustard powder, wasabi powder or English mustard powder

Instructions

Make the mustard oil by warming the vegetable or canola oil gently over low heat. Add the mustard or wasabi powder and whisk it through the oil until is has dissolved. Remove the oil from the heat and set aside.

Open the sea urchins by placing them in the palm of your hand with the mouth opening facing upwards. Insert one of the blades of a pair of scissors into the mouth and cut downwards about an inch until you have reached between a third and halfway down towards the base.

Turn your scissors sideways and continue cutting all around the circumference of the sea urchin shell, until you can remove the top shell like a little hat. Tip out any juices and gently fill the urchin with a little water. Swirl the water around the insides a few times and tip out. With your fingers, tweezers or a pair of chopsticks pick out any bits of seaweed away and discard.

Split the bread lengthwise and spread one side generously with the butter. Scoop out the sea urchins and lay them on top of the butter. Carefully drizzle a small amount of the mustard oil over the urchins - you want to get just enough without it being overpowering.

Close the sandwich with a top slice of bread and place in a preheated panini press. Alternatively, place the sandwich in a hot griddle pan and lay something heavy on top. Cook the sandwich for 2-3 minutes per side until the bread is nicely toasted on the outside and the sea urchins are just warm.

Slice the panini on the diagonal into thick slices and eat with someone worthy.

Jennifer Klinec from Eat Drink Talk has kindly agreed to provide Urban Junkies readers with mouthwatering recipes and foodtips.

To learn more, classes at Eat Drink Talk are held in Jennifer's beautiful loft in Clerkenwell, packed with information and useful tips, and you'll get to sample all of the delicious dishes prepared during class.

 

by JK

In collaboration with Eat Drink Talk

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.