Taramasalata, a ‘salad cream’ or dip, is a delicious Greek and Turkish meze dish served with thin ‘Melba’ style toast, crudités of vegetables, pita or crusty bread, or make some lavash. Tonya Jennings has a fabulous cooking school, Cooking on the Bay, based in Melbourne where this is one of the fabulous dishes that she will share with you. I enjoyed this sometime ago when I visited her Brighton Bathing box, so I was quite excited to get the recipe along with a bit of history…
The word taramasalata comes from the Turkish word, tarama which means “meze made from fish roe”, and salata, meaning “salad”. It is a Greek and Turkish meze dish. The spelling taramasalata is varied but this one is the preferred spelling and the one given in most dictionaries.
Taramasalata is traditionally made from tarama, the dried, salted, pressed, cured roe of the grey mullet. Grey mullet roe is quite expensive and so cod or the carp roe is also used. Nowadays blends based on other forms of fish roe have become more common. The roe is mixed with either bread crumbs or mashed potato, and lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil. It is usually eaten as a dip, with bread and/or raw vegetables.
The colour can vary from creamy beige to pink, depending on the type of roe used. Mass-produced taramasalata is often a bright pink due to the addition of food colouring.
In Greece Taramasalata is mainly eaten on the celebratory day called ‘Clean Monday’, the first day of the Easter lent.
It is said that the Greek meze or appetizer table would not be complete without this traditional spread.
Traditionally, the Greek women made taramasalata in an old wooden mortar called a gouthi, and they would pound the roe thoroughly with a large wooden pestle in order to break the eggs down and allow their flavour to blend with the other ingredients.
We may still use the mortar and pestle, however, the food processor or blender is the easiest way to prepare taramasalata.
You can find various roe caviar or tarama in jars at most Greek or Middle Eastern markets, such as sea mullet, cod or carp roe.
Ingredients:
4 thick slices white sour dough bread, crusts removed
3 tbsp milk
80g tarama (smoked fish roe)
1 small white onion, grated
1 small clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp oil
Salmon roe caviar
Break bread into small pieces and soak in milk for 5 minutes. Squeeze moisture from the bread and blend with remaining ingredients. Strain and chill.
Garnish with a dollop of salmon roe caviar in the middle of the bowl and serve with crusty bread.
Serves 8 as an entrée
Thank you Tonya for this delicious recipe.
To find out more about Tonya’s Cooking On The Bay Cooking School visit:
http://www.cookingonthebay.com.au
