“An egg is an egg is an egg,” Kyritsis says. “Greek taramasalata is also a mayonnaise made from egg, lemon and oil. In this recipe, I use salmon roe. It’s always been a matter of family pride that our taramasalata was the smoothest of all. Commercial filo is a fine product, but most of the time I make my own because its texture is so much better.”
Ingredients
Salmon roe mayonnaise
Method
Main
1.Combine flour, 30ml water and a pinch of sea salt in a bowl. Knead until smooth, then wrap in plastic wrap and stand at room temperature for 1 hour to rest (the dough needs to be soft so the filo can be thinly rolled).
2.Preheat oil in a deep-fryer or deep-sided saucepan to 180C. Halve dough and, working with one half at a time, dust with flour and roll through a pasta machine, folding and rolling and reducing settings notch by notch until you reach the last setting and dough is 1mm thick (dust with extra flour as you go to avoid sticking; alternatively, you can roll the dough using a thin rolling pin). Keep dough covered with a damp cloth while you roll the other half, then cut sheets widthways into 16cm x 4cm strips and deep-fry in batches until golden (3-4 minutes). Drain on absorbent paper. Makes about 32. Filo pastries will keep stored in an airtight container for 3 days.
3.Meanwhile, for salmon roe mayonnaise, combine lemon juice, garlic, 50gm salmon roe, 40ml water and a pinch of freshly ground white pepper in a blender. Process until smooth, then, with motor running, add olive oil, drop by drop at first, then in a thin steady stream until completely incorporated and mixture is thick and emulsified. Transfer to a bowl, cover with remaining salmon roe and serve with filo pastries for dipping.
This recipe is from the March 2010 issue of .
Drink Suggestion: Ouzo or a cold lager. Drink suggestion by Max Allen
Notes