Caviar

"Charlie Chaplin has sold a 1,000-word excerpt from
his autobiography to the soviet newspaper
Izvestia for nine pounds of caviar."

New York Times, September 22, 1964

Susan Friedland has a broad and bold take on Caviar. Her first book was about Ribs, and frankly, I simply adore a girl who loves her ribs and caviar.

While her book features a basic history of caviar, her recipes feature caviar as an ingredient as well as an expensive garnish. She includes several recipes for caviar substitute, many Russian, as she tells us while the Russians love caviar, they also know how to fake it. She features several types of roe in her recipes, including the dried mullet roe botarga.

As the holidays are winding down, I find there is nothing more comforting than a lovely risotto.

Caviar Risotto

1 cup bottled clam juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4-5 tablespoons minced onions
1 1/2 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup aquavit, dry vermouth, or dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons salmon caviar

1. In a saucepan. Mix the clam juice and 4 cups of water and bring to a simmer.
2. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan and sauté the onion slowly in it, stirring from time to time. The onion should be soft but not browned.
3. Add the rice and stir to coat with butter and onion. Raise the heat and pour in the aquavit or wine. Boil off the alcohol, stirring constantly.
4. Lower the heat, add 1 cup of the simmering liquid, and keep stirring until all the liquid is absorbed. Add another cup of simmering liquid and stir until that’s absorbed. Keep adding the liquid until the rice is creamy and still firm. Toward the end of the cooking time, add the simmering liquid in smaller quantities; never stop stirring or the rice will stick and burn. After the last of the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is virtually done, add the heavy cream, stirring to combine. Turn off the heat and cover the pan with a folded dish towel. Let sit for 2 or 3 minutes. Gently sir in the caviar and serve immediately.

If you have an interest in caviar and want to learn more about this ancient fish story, Inga Saffron’s book, Caviar, is a detailed history of how a food eaten by peasants was transformed into the indulgence of the Tsars.



And our final word on caviar comes from a shaken but not stirred James Bond:

“The trouble always is,’ he explained to Vesper, ‘not how to get
enough caviar, but how to get enough toast with it.”

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Caviar: A True Delicacy

“There is more simplicity in the man who eats caviar on impulse than in the man
who eats grape-nuts on principal.”

G.K. Chesterton

Susie Boeckmann and Natalie Rebeiz-Nielsen both work in the caviar business. It wasn’t a huge leap for them to conspire on a slim book about the subject, Caviar: A True Delicacy. Caviar is in the same publishing series as Shirly Line’s book, A Passion For Oysters. It takes the same slim format with a bit of history followed buy a few recipes.

The authors, being closely associated with the trade seem to view caviar in very pure form. The recipes rend to be recipes dressed with a bit of caviar. But remember, it is the New Year so splurge.

If I had to choose between caviar and quail's eggs, I am afraid I would go with the quail's eggs. Here a combination of both.

Caviar with Quail’s Eggs

3 quail eggs
1 teaspoon finely chopped chives
1-2 tablespoons fromage frais or sour cream
pinch of ground pepper
triangles of hot toast
3 teaspoons caviar
2 thin wedges of lemon to garnish

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Put in the quail’s eggs into a wire basket, lower the basket into the water and boil for 2 minutes.

Drain the eggs and immediately cool them under cold running water. Drain again and gently tap the eggs all around to break the shells. Peel carefully and set aside to cool completely.

Stir the chives into the fromage frais or sour cream with a pitch of pepper. Just before serving arrange the eggs and toast triangles on individual plates. Spoon the fromage frais or sour cream mixture over the eggs to coat. Place he caviar and lemon wedges on the plate and serve.

The recipe says it serves 1. Tell me what could be lovelier than ringing in the New Year quite alone with lovely champagne and quail’s eggs and caviar.


I’m an only child – it sounds delightful to me. Go ahead and multiply the recipe for all your company if you must.

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