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You may know Caviar Kaspia as the chic Parisian restaurant famous for deliciously decadent double baked potatoes topped with caviar and crème fraiche (if not, now you do). While the meal alone is worth the transatlantic voyage, you can currently skip the flight and visit Caviar Kaspia at Spring Place in New York City instead.
The pop-up restaurant is timed to correspond with the Tribeca Film Festival, which runs from April 19 to April 30, so be aware that your caviar experience will be brief. But there is actually so much more to Caviar Kaspia than just caviar: think turquoise tablecloths and napkins, Russian vodka shot glasses, silk beige plaid curtains, muted saddle colored suede walls, Louis XV chairs, mirrored ceilings, little brass sconces, and bar carts. Does it get any chicer? And just like the decor, the menu is actually quite expansive—from an assortment of seafood and smoked fish, egg dishes, and pastas, there’s something for everyone. Make a reservation ASAP.
If you can’t make it before the pop-up disappears, here’s a backup plan: Chef Fabio Bano from
shared his recipe for Egg Garganelli Oscietre Reserve Caviar. And while it’s certainly not the simplest, it’s definitely worth a try.
Chef Fabio Bano’s Egg Garganelli Oscietre Reserve Caviar recipe:
Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the Dough: 300 gr, “00” flour Spadoni 100 gr, Semolina flour Molino Grassi 8 egg yolks 1 whole egg 1 tbs, extra virgin olive oil 30 gr, Tarragon, julienned
For the Bisque: 1 carrot, mirepoix 1 celery stalk, mirepoix 1 leek, mirepoix 1 vidalia onion, mirepoix 2 bay leaves 2 ripe tomatoes, halved and crushed 30 gr. fresh herbs sachet (chervil stems, parsley stems, thyme) 100 gr. crab knuckles, rinsed 100 gr. langoustine shells and heads, rinsed 4 tbs. olive oil 3 oz. mineral white wine 20 gr. unsalted butter 60 gr. cold pressed tomato water, clarified 8 langoustines tails 60 gr. king crab meat 3 tbs. extra virgin olive oil 1 clove, young garlic, de-veined 60 gr. Oscietre Reserve Caviar Kaspia
Garganelli Preparation: 1. Mound the flour on a clean work surface and create a well in the center. Place the eggs and egg yolks in the center. Using a fork, whisk the eggs and oil together and slowly start dragging the flour into the egg mixture. Knead by hand until all the ingredients are well combined and the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
2. Set up a pasta machine, and turn it to the largest opening. Cut off pieces of dough about the size of an egg. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll the dough into sheets about 1/8-inch thick. Add the tarragon. Roll the final sheet at about 2 mm high.
3. Cut the pasta sheet into regular 2.75 inches squares.Form ridged tubes of pasta rolling the squares around a stick (bastoncino) and maintaining firm pressure pass over a ridged tool known as comb or “pettine.” Be certain tip is sealed. Slip Garganelli off the bastoncino and place on a semolina lined towel. Cover until ready to cook.
Bisque Preparation: 1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the reserved Langoustines heads and shells, crab Knuckles and cook, stirring, for 4-5 minutes or until the shells are browned (the shells will pop and crackle loudly).
2. Add the onion, carrot, celery, leeks and bay leaf, and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until the onion is soft.
3. Discard the prawn heads. Add the wine, the water, the tomatoes, the sachet of fresh herbs and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes until the shellfish flavor is completely extracted. Reserve ¾ of the bisque.
Shellfish Butter Preparation: Add the butter to the remaining bisque, let it melt. It will come to the surface and capture the essence of the stock. Move the pot in a blast chiller until the butter is solidified, separate it from the remaining juice and set preserve in a refrigerator.
Recipe Preparation: 1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add salt.
2. In a small sauté pan, bring 50 gr. of extra virgin olive to 70 degrees Celsius. Poach the langoustine for about 3 second to coat the outside part. Set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, heat 3 tbs. of extra virgin olive, add the garlic clove, the crab meat and simmer for 1 minute. Add the white wine and let the alcohol evaporate. Cover the crab meat with half cold pressed tomato juice and half bisque, and reduce by half. Season with salt and white pepper.
4. Place the garganelli in the boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes, drain, and place in the saucepan. Cook for another 2 minutes stirring occasionally and adding more bisque if necessary. Once the pasta is cooked through and perfectly coated with the sauce, add the langoustine. Do not cook any longer. Serve with the Caviar on top.
Suggested wine: Calera, Viognier, Mt. Harlan, California