Fish Roe Mousse, Commonly Known as Taramosalata. Fluffy and Extra Velvety

Name: Fish Roe Mousse, Commonly Known as Taramosalata. Fluffy and Extra Velvety
Total time: 1800 s
Yield: a very large bowl
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 200 grams white taramas; 100 grams herring fillet (in oil); 1 white onion; 2 1/3-2 1/2 cups sunflower oil (550-600 ml); Juice of 4 medium lemons; Zest of 1 lemon; Additional sunflower oil (as needed to achieve the desired texture)

ggr @george

Athens

Our taramas for Clean Monday 2022. Well, you can also call it “taramas mayonnaise” or “airy taramosalata”, or whatever you like. The result is an even smoother, fluffier in texture, and smoky in flavor white taramosalata that will delight you...

Taramas is nothing more than fish eggs, most commonly from carp, but also from cod or other fish. It reaches its peak (much better quality) when it is the so-called white taramas, which is “pure”, meaning it contains 100% fish eggs and no color or other additives. That's why it's more expensive, but the taramosalata it makes is excellent.

That's what we'll be working with today. But we'll make it even tastier by giving it a smoky texture with the addition of herring and paprika. And we'll give it a pleasant acidity with the addition of lemon. A generous amount of lemon!

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Ingredients

30 minutes blending

a very large bowl

200 gramswhite taramas
100 gramsherring fillet (in oil)
1white onion
2 1/3-2 1/2 cupssunflower oil (550-600 ml)
Juice of 4 medium lemons
Zest of 1 lemon
Additional sunflower oil (as needed to achieve the desired texture)

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Steps

30 minutes blending

1

Arrange the ingredients. If you want your taramosalata to be truly enjoyable this year, choose AA quality ingredients. The taramas should be white and high-quality, the herring fillet smoked and in oil (avoid those in salt), the paprika fresh and aromatic (if it's stale, you've lost all the aroma of your spread), the lemons juicy and fragrant. And if the endeavor seems complicated, well, these are the terms for me to trust you with my recipe!
2

Coarsely chop the onion. Since the ingredients are for a large quantity, we won't use the convenient but somewhat cramped mixer bowl, but a spacious bowl with high sides.
3

Add the taramas, herring fillet, zest of one lemon, a tablespoon of water, and activate the immersion blender. With the help of the little water we added, blend these initial ingredients until you get a smooth and relatively thick cream, without unblended pieces of herring. Add and blend the pieces of white onion. The onion will add sweetness to our taramosalata.
4

If needed, at this stage while still blending the herring, onion, and taramas, facilitate the process by adding a bit more water (a tablespoon is enough).
5

Add the smoked paprika, two teaspoons, and incorporate it into the mixture.
6

Now that the solid ingredients are well blended and incorporated, start adding the liquid ingredients, the sunflower oil, and lemon juice. Initially, add the sunflower oil. Add it gradually while continuing to operate the immersion blender to incorporate each amount into the mixture before adding more. As you add oil and blend, the mixture will become smooth but will also thicken.
7

When the mixture has absorbed about half of the sunflower oil (around 1 1/4 cups or 300 ml), add the lemon juice. The amount is quite large, and the relatively thick mixture (see the second photo) will thin out a lot and start to foam (third photo). Don't worry, adding the remaining sunflower oil will thicken it again.
8

Add the remaining sunflower oil and continue to operate the immersion blender. Know that the more you blend the oil, the thicker the cream will become, while always remaining smooth and velvety. You may need to add a bit more sunflower oil (the amount of lemon is large) and continue blending for a few more minutes until you achieve the desired texture of the taramosalata.
9

Transfer it to another (more compact) bowl to save space, cover it with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator, where it will keep for many, many days (just saying, it probably won't last that long...).
10

Clean Monday 2022 found us, thank God, healthy, enjoying once again (albeit in a small circle) a Lenten table where the taramosalata, or rather, the carp roe mousse, once again held a prominent place!