A plate of sea urchins can be slightly confusing the first time it arrives at the table.
The shells are covered in black spines, the tops have been cut open, and inside there appears to be surprisingly little to eat. It can almost look as though somebody got there before you.
They did not.
Sea urchins are considered a delicacy in several parts of the world, from the Mediterranean to Japan. In Italy, you will see them on menus as ricci di mare. They may be served raw in their shells or used in dishes such as spaghetti ai ricci di mare.
But if you have never tried one before, it helps to know exactly what you are ordering.
What Part of a Sea Urchin Do You Actually Eat?
Only a small part of a sea urchin is eaten.
The five orange or yellow sections inside the shell are commonly called sea urchin “roe”. Technically, however, they are the animal's gonads — its reproductive organs.
Yes, that sounds considerably less appetising than “roe”.
The edible portion represents only a fraction of the whole animal, which explains why an opened sea urchin can look remarkably empty. The FAO describes the Mediterranean purple sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) as an important edible species harvested for these gonads, which are valued for their rich flavour and delicate texture.
Once the sea urchin has been opened and cleaned, the edible sections can simply be lifted out with a small spoon.
What Does Sea Urchin Taste Like?
Sea urchin tastes intensely of the sea, but describing it simply as “fishy” does not really capture it.
Good sea urchin is soft and creamy, with a salty, briny flavour and a slight sweetness. Depending on the species, season and individual animal, the flavour can also have mineral or iodine-like notes.
The texture is part of the experience. There is no bite or chew in the way there is with prawns, mussels or squid. The edible part is extremely soft and almost melts in the mouth.
It is also a flavour that not everybody immediately loves.
When we first tried ricci di mare at Pesceria Barberini in Rome, our waitress asked whether we had eaten them before. When we said no, she suggested ordering only a few to begin with. It was very good advice.
Sea Urchins Are Something to Try, Not Necessarily Your Dinner
This is worth knowing before ordering them for the first time: a few sea urchins are not a substantial meal.
Think of them more like oysters or another raw seafood delicacy — something to taste as part of a larger meal rather than something that will necessarily feed you on its own.
At Pesceria, we ordered three sea urchins to share and chose other seafood as our actual meal.
One of those dishes was zuppa di pesce.
We expected fish soup.
What arrived was an enormous platter piled with mussels, prawns, squid and large pieces of fish, with toasted bread around the edges and the tomato-based broth underneath everything else.
It was technically soup. It was also considerably closer to a seafood feast than the bowl of soup we had imagined.
Pesceria still lists zuppa di pesce on its current menu, made with mussels, clams, scampi, prawns, squid, gurnard and scorpionfish in varying quantities, with tomato, extra-virgin olive oil, basil and salt.
So if you are curious about sea urchins but also hungry, the lesson is simple: order the ricci to try, and order something else to eat.
A Ristopescheria in the Centre of Rome
Pesceria is an interesting place to try them because it is not simply a conventional seafood restaurant.
The business describes itself as a ristopescheria — essentially a fish shop and restaurant combined. Fresh fish and shellfish are displayed on ice at the counter, while customers can also sit down and eat seafood on site.
The first Pesceria opened at Re di Roma in 2015, followed by the Barberini location in 2016, a short walk from the Trevi Fountain.
The Barberini restaurant is the one we visited, and the fish counter was a large part of its appeal. You could see whole fish, shellfish, prawns and sea urchins displayed on ice rather than encountering them only as names on a menu.
The portions we ordered were generous — particularly the unexpectedly monumental fish soup — and it is one of those places we would happily return to on another visit to Rome.
Where Else Are Sea Urchins Eaten?
Italy is far from the only country with a tradition of eating sea urchins.
Across the Mediterranean they are eaten in several coastal cuisines. In France they are known as oursins, while in Spain they are erizos de mar; in Asturias, you may also encounter the regional name oricios.
Japan has made sea urchin internationally famous as uni, served in sushi, sashimi and rice dishes. Sea urchins are also eaten in countries including Chile, where they are known as erizos, and New Zealand, where kina has long been part of Māori food culture.
In the Mediterranean, the purple sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) is one of the principal edible species. Sea urchin populations are also environmentally important and can be vulnerable to overharvesting, so harvesting rules and seasons vary by location.
How Much Does Sea Urchin Cost?
The price of sea urchin varies considerably depending on the country, species, season and how it is served.
In restaurants, fresh sea urchins may be priced individually rather than as a complete dish. When we visited Pesceria in Rome, ricci di mare were priced at €3 each. For current prices, check the restaurant’s latest Barberini menu.
Buying them individually also makes it easy to try just one or two before committing to a larger order. Because there is only a small amount to eat inside each shell, however, the cost can add up quickly if you order a whole plate.
Prepared uni dishes, pasta with sea urchin and higher-grade sea urchin served in sushi restaurants can be priced very differently, so there is no useful universal price for sea urchin.
Should You Try Sea Urchin?
If you already enjoy oysters and other strongly marine flavours, sea urchin is certainly worth trying at least once.
Just do not order ten of them before discovering whether you like them.
Start with one or two, take a small spoon, scoop out one of the soft orange sections and try it without expecting it to taste like any other shellfish.
And if the opened shell looks suspiciously empty, remember: nobody ate your dinner before it reached the table. There was simply never very much dinner in there to begin with.
