Sea Urchin Roe on the Menu

Sea Urchin fresh from the sea

Our various sea side ramblings as detailed in my Seaside Harvest blog  also brought the plump and spiny Sea Urchin to our attention. The gonads, or sex organs, of this creature are what is eaten and in many cultures it is eaten with great gusto for supposed aphrodisiac qualities.

Removing the roe from the hard shell can be a challenge and we sought the assistance of You Tube for our tutorial.

Nutrition

Sea urchin roe

Sea urchin roe (uni) is a good source of energy, omega 3 fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, protein, minerals (such as zinc) and vitamins.
Calories                              172kcal/100g
Protein - total                         13.27/100g
Polyunsaturated fatty acids        1.75/100g
Omega 3 fatty acids                  1.07/100g
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)    0.79/100g
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)   0.04/100g
Zinc                                         17.00 ppm

       

Sea Urchin Sushi

Sushi assembly

Ingredients
1 large sea urchin (you only use the orange roe)
2 toasted nori sheets
1 cup sushi rice cooked to instructions

1 tbs rice wine vinegar
1 tbs mirin
4 snow peas finely sliced long ways
handful of mustard greens (I used cress and mizuma)
slices of pickled sushi ginger
japanese soy
wasabi to taste
small daikon radish finely grated


 Method:

Lay your hot cooked sushi rice in a large tray and sprinkle the vinegar and mirin and allow to cool.

Remove the roe from the ocean fresh sea urchin (you can find videos on You Tube) rinse well and keep whole.

Assemble your other ingredients and place your nori sheets on a bamboo mat for rolling.

leaving the closest edge of the nori sheet for about an inch cover a third of the nori with sushi rice mix to approx 5mm of rice.
top the rice with slivers of snow peas
Mix together the wasabi and grated daikon. Place pieces of roe in a line across the rice and lay a line of the wasabi  mix on top

Place some greens on top and then a row of pickled ginger.

Time to roll your sushi. A small painting of ginger pickle juice on the far end of the nori will help seal the roll. Use the mat to roll up the sushi tightly and lie on the sealed edge to ensure a good seal. Slice each roll in half and each half into thirds.
Uni Sushi!

Use Japanese soy for dipping
Makes 2 rolls

Variation:

Uni Qushi
Sushi with quinoa

1 cup of cooked quinoa
1 teaspoon chia
1 teaspoons warm water
1 tbs rice wine vinegar
soak the chia in the warm water until a gel forms then strain
add the rice wine vinegar to the chia gel and blend then mix into the cooled quinoa to allow the quinoa to have the tackiness of sushi rice and use instead of sushi rice for a high protein variation and a delightful nutty flavour.

Pasta Riccio di Mare

Ingredients:
the roe of 2 sea urchins - uni
3 cloves garlic finely diced and mashed with a dash of course salt
2 tbs butter
1/2 cup cream
250gm porcine fetteccini (any pasta you like this is what we had handy)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp capers
1 tsp lumpfish caviar to serve

Method:
cook the pasta according to packet instructions and drain.
saute the garlic lightly in the butter, remove from the heat and add the uni and cream and whisk gently until a creamy sauce is achieved return pasta to the pot and combine.
serve with the capers and cavier as garnish and season.

Uni Butter

Ingredients:
the roe of 2 sea urchins - uni
125 gm butter

Method:
Allow the butter to soften at room temperature
Blend the uni into the butter and form into a roll with plastic wrap and place into te fridge until firm
unwrap and slice into coins.
Place onto a steak to dress surf and turf, onto a crayfish for a buttery finish, stir through pasta or let your imagination lead the way.

Preserving:
To preserve your harvest for future use then uni butter in plastic wrap in the freezer will keep for a month. Keep some handy for that dinner party to impress your guests.

Traditional and Magickal Sea Urchin Aspects

Sea Urchin teaches discernment and the art of understanding underlying circumstances. Her slow and methodical movements shows how to maneuver with tenacity and patience. Nothing is impossible when Urchin is guiding you. Monitor defense mechanisms. Do you have tough exterior and soft inside? Urchin will teach this balance of rough and tender. Evolution, metamorphosis and new developments are highlighted with Sea Urchin medicine. She teaches ways of extracting information out of the rubble of the mind and of day to day activities. Care of your feet, physical movement and grounding properties hallmark Urchin's meaning. Pay heed to the color of the Sea Urchin for this will aid in understanding.

bread of the fairies

Fossilised micraster coranguinum found in the UK made of chalk was once called "bread of the fairies" and was endowed with the capacity to te house wic has it never to miss out on bread.

In the south of England, fossil sea urchins are placed on the racks of the dairies to prevent milk from turning.

Sea urchins laid out rings some around a tomb were discovered in the area of London.


The druids thought that the sea urchins were eggs of snakes.
They could be stolen the day before of the middle of the summer but were to be preserved on a fabric to preserve their magic power. They protected their owner against the poisons and other vapors

Sea Urchin fossil

Local tribes of India name them "Khada of punchu" which means "the stone of the five".

In Jamaica a sea urchin "Eurhodia", found in abundance, is called " lucky stone ".

In Algeria also, sea urchins were found in a Neolithic site.