Whipped carp roe with olive oil, lemon and stale bread, the most important cold meze in the Thessaloniki tsipouradiko. Typically pale pink, from white salted carp rather than smoked cod roe.

Tarama, the salted carp roe used in the traditional Thessaloniki version, was sourced from the Macedonian lakes and rivers and from Black Sea imports. The meze survived both the Jewish and Asia Minor food cultures of the city and is now the first plate to arrive at every tsipouradiko, paired with a carafe of cold tsipouro and a basket of bread.

Where to eat Taramosalata in Thessaloniki

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Make it at home

Serves 61 hrEasy

Ingredients

  • 100g pale tarama (salted carp or cod roe), from a Greek or Turkish deli
  • 150g day-old white country bread, crusts removed
  • 1 small white onion, finely grated
  • Juice of 1 1/2 lemons, plus more to taste
  • 200ml mild extra virgin olive oil
  • 50ml ice-cold water
  • Pita or country bread, warmed, to serve
  • Pinch of cayenne or sweet paprika, to finish
  • Olive oil, to drizzle

Method

  1. Tear the bread into chunks, place in a bowl and cover with cold water. Leave for 5 minutes, then squeeze out hard so the bread is moist but not wet.
  2. Place the tarama in a food processor with the grated onion and process for 30 seconds until smooth.
  3. Add the squeezed bread in two batches, pulsing each time to combine.
  4. With the motor running on low, drizzle in half the lemon juice, then drizzle in the olive oil very slowly, like a mayonnaise, until the mixture emulsifies and lightens to a pale pink.
  5. Loosen with the ice-cold water, a tablespoon at a time, until the texture is silky and whipped.
  6. Taste and add the rest of the lemon juice if needed. Do not add salt; tarama is already heavily salted.
  7. Transfer to a wide shallow bowl. Make a swoosh with the back of a spoon, drizzle olive oil into the well, and dust with cayenne.
  8. Serve cold with warm pita or country bread. Best eaten the day it is made, but keeps two days chilled.

Editor tip. Use pale tarama, not the bright pink supermarket dye-job. The natural colour is beige; pink-tinted shop versions are food colouring. Adjust olive oil texture to your liking; thicker for spreading, looser for dipping.