Taramas is a staple food during Great Lent. It is one of those curious lenten dishes because it is made from fish roe, but we are not allowed to have fish. The roe, however, is not counted in the category of meat or fish. Therefore, we can make taramosalata and eat it. In the past, we have made this with bread -- cutting off the crust of stale white bread and then soaking it in water to add to the whipped roe. But this time, we made tarama with potatoes. This, for us, was a first. We had heard of other people doing this, but potatoes were for skordalia, not taramosalata.
So, we tried a new recipe for this. We found an easy recipe online, but omitted the olive oil and used vegetable oil instead. The folks at Yumly really made it easy for us. We had all the ingredients, and could not let Great Lent begin without having taramosalata on the table. For this recipe, you will need the following:
2 large potatoes
5 ounces tarama (cod roe)
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 lemons, juiced
3/4 cup oil
garnish with lemon, parsley, or capers
Peel the potatoes and cut into small chunks. Put them in a pot of water and boil them until they are fully cooked. They should be cooked long enough as if you were making potato salad. Drain the water when they are done cooking, and keep the potatoes aside for a future step. In the meantime, while the potatoes cook, chop the onion and puree the tarama with lemon juice.
The recipe called for 5 ounces of tarama (142 g), but we thought that was too much, and we cut it to 3 ounces (85 g). This was approximtely half the jar of tarama.
Whip the tarama until it is light and fluffy. This will take about ten minutes (yes, 10 minutes). The tarama will have the consistency of mayonnaise.
You need the juice of one and a half lemons. Juice the lemons with your favourite juicer to remove pulp and seeds. Then, add the lemon juice to the whipped tarama. The lemon juice may make the tarama a lighter shade.
You will need one small onion. We had very large onions, so we cut ours in four, and used one fourth of the whole onion. Cut it into small pieces that will fit into the food processor or blender you are using.
Add the onions to the food processor and whip until it is completely smooth. Then, let this rest and work the potatoes.
In a separate bowl, mash the cooked potatoes. You can use a fork, potato masher, or a hand blender. Remember, the more you mash, the smoother your taramosalata will be.
We chose to mash our potatoes enough to have some texture, some chunks still intact. You can see the chunks of potato in the bowl.
Fold together the whipped tarama mixture with the potatoes. Fold until the colour is uniform and everything is fully mixed.
Taramosalata is ready to serve. We garnished with a slice of Meyer Lemon, but you could use capers, chopped red onions, parsley, or whatever you like. Keep this chilled until serving.
When we made this recipe, we were skeptical with the amounts and the statement that this would serve 7 people. Of course, we do not believe that this serves 7 Greek people! Regardless, it was delicious. One of the people who tasted this said, "I don't usually like tarama because it's too fishy. This one has a nice, mild fish taste." Another taster said, "This is different because it's chunky. It's like fish mashed potatoes." We are not sure if that is good for others or not, but the taster was honest. Our last comment from a taster was that this was "... creamy and good. I don't need the bread, I just need a spoon!" We think that was the best compliment we could have received... that and, there were no leftovers!
We would use this recipe again because it was so easy to follow, and easy to make. The directions were clear, and simplified. Mostly, we would make this recipe again because we all enjoyed eating it! After all the years we have made taramosalata with bread, we find that the potatoes were a cleaner way to make this. No more dipping our hands in the water and squeezing the bread. Potatoes are always on hand, whereas sliced white bread is not, so that makes this a more convenient recipe for us. If you recall, we made taramosalata in Great Lent Gourmet 2012 (Day 12) but then we were focusing on the differences of making it with the two brands of roe that are readily available in the store. This time, we wanted to focus on the recipe itself, regardless of which brand of roe one is using. So, we can confirm that taramosalata made with potatoes is delicious and easy. For us, it will be a staple food during Great Lents to come.
Above all, strive to love your neighbor; for in his love consists love for God.
- St. Macarius of Optina
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