Sea Urchin with Butter-Poached Yellow Eye Steuben Beans, Tarragon, Frisée, Chicory and Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

  • Sea Urchin with Butter-Poached Yellow Eye Steuben Beans, Tarragon, Frisée, Chicory and Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
  • Sea Urchin with Butter-Poached Yellow Eye Steuben Beans, Tarragon, Frisée, Chicory and Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

NOTES

Uni is expensive, but worth every penny. It must be very fresh since it never previously frozen, so look for it at an upscale fish monger or Japanese market. Yellow  Eyed Steuben Beans are my new legume-crush. They are available in your higher end grocery store, and are so creamy and consistent in their texture; a great compliment to the uni.

INSTRUCTIONS

Go to the fish monger and feel like a baller buying a whole tray of sea urchin (this cost me $22).

Soak beans in warm water for an hour or more. Drain. Set a sauté pan on medium heat with butter. Add beans and enough broth to just cover the beans. Add bay leaf and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer with lid just slightly ajar for about 40 minutes, or until the beans are very smooth and cooked all the way through but still holding their shape. Do not rush this, an under-cooked bean is a starchy and unpleasant thing. Add liquid as the beans as they absorb the broth, adding water when you run out of broth. When they are cooked through, they should have absorbed all the liquid, if not, cook them for the last minute with top off to let the liquid evaporate.

At this point, I would take the urchin out of the fridge. It will taste best at room temperature.

Pull apart chicory and frisée leaves into small pieces, wash and spin.

Squeeze Meyer lemon juice and maple syrup into a small bowl and whisk with olive oil until you get a nice thick dressing.

Chop tarragon and chives.

Plate beans and sprinkle with Tarragon. Do not feel compelled to add all the ingredients, this is a delicate dish so I would plate sparsely and bring the extra beans to the table in a separate covered dish if your guests want seconds. Lightly dress salad greens with vinaigrette, sprinkle with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Pile the greens on top of of the beans, and carefully add your uni to the plate. They are delicate so do this gingerly.

Sprinkle chives on top and around the edge of the plate. Serve with a nice piece of toast.

RECIPE

DIFFICULTY

MODERATE

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SERVES

4

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PREP TIME

60 MINS

Salad

  • 1 
     
    container of fresh sea urchin
  • 1 
     
    head frisée lettuce
  • 1 
     
    small head castelfranco radicchio
  • 1 
    cup 
    yellow eye steuben beans (if you can’t dins these, use high quality dried cannellini beans and soak overnight)
  • 1 
    tbs 
    salted butter
  • 1 
     
    pinch salt and black pepper
  • 2 
    cups 
    2 cups stock (chicken or veggie, or use bouillon)
  • 1 
     
    bay leaf
  • 1 
    tbs 
    fresh tarragon leaves, coarsely chopped
  • 1 
    tsp 
    fresh chives, finely chopped

Dressing

  • 1 
     
    Meyer lemon, juiced
  • 1/3 
    cup 
    Olive Oil
  • 1 
    tsp 
    Maple Syrup
  •  
     
    Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper to Taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Go to the fish monger and feel like a baller buying a whole tray of sea urchin (this cost me $22).

Soak beans in warm water for an hour or more. Drain. Set a sauté pan on medium heat with butter. Add beans and enough broth to just cover the beans. Add bay leaf and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer with lid just slightly ajar for about 40 minutes, or until the beans are very smooth and cooked all the way through but still holding their shape. Do not rush this, an under-cooked bean is a starchy and unpleasant thing. Add liquid as the beans as they absorb the broth, adding water when you run out of broth. When they are cooked through, they should have absorbed all the liquid, if not, cook them for the last minute with top off to let the liquid evaporate.

At this point, I would take the urchin out of the fridge. It will taste best at room temperature.

Pull apart chicory and frisée leaves into small pieces, wash and spin.

Squeeze Meyer lemon juice and maple syrup into a small bowl and whisk with olive oil until you get a nice thick dressing.

Chop tarragon and chives.

Plate beans and sprinkle with Tarragon. Do not feel compelled to add all the ingredients, this is a delicate dish so I would plate sparsely and bring the extra beans to the table in a separate covered dish if your guests want seconds. Lightly dress salad greens with vinaigrette, sprinkle with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Pile the greens on top of of the beans, and carefully add your uni to the plate. They are delicate so do this gingerly.

Sprinkle chives on top and around the edge of the plate. Serve with a nice piece of toast.

If you have ever had the pleasure of foraging for urchin in tidal pools, you know that sea urchin needs no bells and whistles to be considered the most decadent treasure of the sea. It has the consistency of custard, with a briny undertone. When my husband and I go out for sushi, we order Uni (Sea Urchin) last, as our dessert. A common misperception is that part of the urchin that we eat is the roe (the eggs) of the mollusk, but in fact, you are eating the organs that produce the roe…Yup, them’s the gonads.

Oh come on, you’ve eaten worse.

Sea urchin and butter go hand in hand, often mixed together and smeared on a thick slice of bread (I highly recommend this, though it cannot be considered a salad by any stretch of the imagination). For this recipe, I poached the Steuben beans in butter and broth, with a bit of fresh tarragon tossed on at the end. The yellow eye beans are smooth and creamy on their own, but with the added richness of the butter they are the perfect compliment to the sea urchin. I off-set this hedonistic flavor profile with the bitter greens and sweet lemon dressing. Or, you can just buy yourself a pile of uni and eat it with some some sea salt and call it a day. Your call.