Taramá

Smoked Cod’s Roe

Appears in

By Patience Gray

Published 1986

  • About

As fasting food, taramá is cod’s roe from Iceland dispensed from tins in the general store and kapheneíon. In non-fasting times it can be improved by pounding it with a clove of garlic, and adding olive oil and lemon juice to which black pepper is generously applied. Sometimes, to ‘stretch’ it, breadcrumbs are incorporated, and chopped parsley or chopped coriander leaves.

The Apollonians were shocked to find us eating tarama when fasting was out of season. To them it represented only an obligation and an expense.