The Best Fish Market Ever and Uni Toast

Made with just 4 simple ingredients, Uni Toast is a better way of buttering your bread!  Fresh sea urchin makes butter a little sweet and a little briny, perfect for crusty french bread. 

An easy sea urchin recipe

This Uni Toast recipe is super easy, so I thought I would tell you a little about my favorite fish market.  Keep reading below to find out where the best fish market is and where I purchased my fresh uni!

What is uni?

The day we visited the fish market, they had fresh uni. Uni is the Japanese name for sea urchin.  I’ve bought it here before in the shell but this time, it was already shelled and ready to eat.  Winning!

Uni has a firm texture and is normally served raw.  Bite into it and it’s smooth and creamy with a sweet, slightly briny flavor.  I love it. 

I ate at least half of the uni raw and decided to make a butter out of the rest.  My plan was to slather it on toasted slices of my homemade french bread with dinner that night.  YUM!

How to make uni butter for uni toast

Uni butter is simple and easy to make: basically you take butter, fresh uni, and a touch of sea salt.   Keep it covered in the refrigerator and use it in place of regular butter over the next– days. 

I like to have small pieces of uni in the butter, so I don’t mix it up too much.  The pieces just melt into the bread when toasting it under the broiler.

Ways to use uni butter

• On scrambled eggs
• Stir it into sautéed veggies
• Top a grilled steak or seafood
• Add a few tablespoons to cooked pasta, rice, and mashed potatoes
• Spread it on a big piece of french bread for uni toast!!
  

Ain’t nobody got time for counting calories when eating bread, so be generous with the uni butter, my friends.

Uni butter just makes toast taste better.  I know uni is a little weird, but sometimes you have to try new and strange ingredients. 

Harbor Fish Market for the BEST and freshest seafood

If you find yourself in the beautiful coastal city of Portland, Maine, you have to visit the Harbor Fish Market. This is fresh cold water seafood at it’s best!

Even if you don’t like seafood, I bet you’ll find something here you do like.  If you are a seafood lover, well then, you just walked through the gates of heaven.

The wonderful city of Portland Maine

Portland is one of my favorite cities because:

1.  Water is everywhere you look.  It’s right on the Atlantic, so the views are to die for!
2.  It’s a fantastic walkable city
3.  There are some of the best farm-to-table restaurants around
4.  And some of the best breweries too!
5.  Lastly, the Harbor Fish Market is there

With all that Portland has to offer, the Harbor Fish Market is pretty much the main reason why I go visit.  Yeah, it’s all that or so much more. 

Their selection of oysters is astounding, the scallops are the size of your hand, and the fish is unbelievably fresh.  Like, right outta the water fresh. 

Most everything is local to Maine or the New England area and is labeled with the point of origin so you know exactly what you are getting.

Oysters galore!!!  We are huge oyster lovers so this is the frosting on the cake for us.

At home, enjoying one of the oysters with with a homemade mignonette (red wine vinegar and shallots).

Wild Atlantic salt cod and it makes the most unbelievably tasty fritters!

Huge scallop on the top (yes, that’s my hand, not a child’s) and fresh raw tuna on the bottom.  If all these pictures haven’t convinced you at this point that this place is the best fish market ever, then it never will.

If you have a chance to pick up some fresh uni, try making some butter and this delicious Uni Toast.  Next time you are in Portland Maine, don’t forget to visit the Harbor Fish Market or seek out the best fish market in your area!

Uni Toast

Made with just 4 simple ingredients, Uni Toast is a better way of buttering your bread! Fresh sea urchin makes butter a little sweet and a little briny, perfect for crusty french bread.

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 2 minutes

Total Time: 7 minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 1971kcal

Author: Karrie | Tasty Ever After

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted grass-fed butter, softened
• 1/4 cup of fresh uni (sea urchin)
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon Tabasco
• 1 french bread baguette, cut into 1″ slices
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives, minced (optional)

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat the oven broiler on high. In a small bowl, mix together the softened butter, uni, lemon juice, sea salt, and Tabasco.
  
• Spread the uni butter generously on the bread slices and broil until lightly brown (about 1-2 minutes). Sprinkle with chives and serve immediately.

Recipe Notes & Tips:

• Makes 1/2 cup of uni butter.
• Store leftover in a tightly covered container for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
• Butter can be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap tightly in freezer proof plastic wrap or freezer storage bag. 

Nutrition Facts

Uni Toast

Amount Per Serving

Calories 1971 Calories from Fat 891

% Daily Value*

Fat 99g152%

Saturated Fat 60g300%

Cholesterol 244mg81%

Sodium 2659mg111%

Potassium 512mg15%

Carbohydrates 226g75%

Fiber 9g36%

Sugar 10g11%

Protein 48g96%

Vitamin A 2965IU59%

Vitamin C 2.7mg3%

Calcium 203mg20%

Iron 14.5mg81%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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