Oh, I love IKEA! We just got a shoe cabinet there for our shoes that sit around in front of our back door. Sukkiri shimashita (translation: feels very clean).
Anyway, IKEA has great affordable stuff, but also some great grocery items. They have these awesome thin crunchy cookies that are dipped in semi-sweet chocolate, that comes in a ginormous box of maybe 100 cookies, that I really know I shouldn’t buy… (drool) Or that Lingenberry Juice concentrate and Lingenberry jelly. Well this time, I found something that I’ve actually been wanting. This was not an impulse buy, I actually have seen it in a magazine and really wanted to try it, but I could not find it any where! But now, the fabulous have-it-all IKEA had it.
Kalles
“Kalles: Creamed Smoked Roe” from Switzerland.
Roe is fish eggs, fancy people call it caviar. It’s those tiny little balls that are on top of a California Roll. Japanese people just love roe. It’s a really fancy thing to eat. We put roe on things to make food look festive. Mentaiko is my favorite, walleye pollack roe that has been salted and spiced up with some red pepper. And one of my favorite things to do with this Mentaiko is to make Mentai Spaghetti! It is SO GOOD!!
Back to the Kalles, in a Japanese magazine, this lady who lived in the UK reported about this Kalles, to substitute the Tarako, which is the non spicy version of my favorite Mentaiko. I’m thinking, “I need this magic in a tube! Deliciouse Tarako anytime I want, whenever I want is a beautiful thing!!!” And now I have my magic in a tube, all thanks to the importing of IKEA gourmet grocery’s.
After bringing home my Kalles, I have immediately opened the tube and tried a little. Not exactly what I had in mind… A little more sweet… A bit more smokey… But good! It was one of those, put on your cracker or put on your toast kind of creamy, smokey, and roe-y. I could make my pasta with this!
Here’s my recipe for this Kalles Spaghettini for 2
- 1 tbsp of Kalles, Creamed Smoked Roe
- 80 grams of Spaghettini
- A knob of Butter
- 1/4 tsp Red Chili Pepper Flakes
- 1 knob of garlic minced
- 1 tsp Goma (Toasted Sesame Seeds)
- 1/2 sheet of Nori (Sea Weed) cut into paper shredder thin strips that are about 2 inches long
- 1/2 a pack of Kaiware (Radish Sprouts)
- Salt to taste
Boil the spaghettini in well salted water and drain. This is a very quick cook so the pasta shouldn’t cool.
In a large pan, melt the butter with the red chili pepper flakes and garlic. When you start smelling the garlic, turn off the burner and add the Kalles. Mix swift and well, add the spaghettini and toss with the Goma and sprouts. Salt to taste and serve with the sea weed sprinkled on top. Yummmm.
cocoyo 