*Tarichos* — salt fish for the long sea
Fillets of oily fish (tuna, mackerel) covered in salt until firm and flavorful. Desalted, drizzled with oil and wine, eaten in strips with *maza*.
Fillets of oily fish (tuna, mackerel) covered in salt until firm and flavorful. Desalted, drizzled with oil and wine, eaten in strips with *maza*.
Salt, mortal, is my oldest trick. I swallow the sea and make it more bitter still; men, in turn, draw from it the means to survive my mood. See this tuna lying under salt like a drowned man under foam: for moons it keeps, and no whirlpool corrupts it. When your ship glides between Scylla and me, it is this flesh, firm and pungent, that you tear with your teeth while praying to the gods. Drizzle it with oil, moisten it with a little wine — and thank the salt, which steals from the waves what they thought to keep.
- •Fresh tuna or mackerel — as much as the catch allows (flesh to preserve)
- •Sea salt — in abundance, to cover (preserving agent)
- •Olive oil — for serving (soften and flavor)
- •Oregano, coriander seeds — to taste (scent)
*Tarichos* — salt fish for the long sea
Fillets of oily fish (tuna, mackerel) covered in salt until firm and flavorful. Desalted, drizzled with oil and wine, eaten in strips with *maza*.
Why this dish? To cross waters guarded by a monster that swallows ships, one did not fish along the way: one carried already salted fish. *Tarichos*, preserved in the very salt of the sea that Charybdis churns, fed the crew for weeks.
Salt, mortal, is my oldest trick. I swallow the sea and make it more bitter still; men, in turn, draw from it the means to survive my mood. See this tuna lying under salt like a drowned man under foam: for moons it keeps, and no whirlpool corrupts it. When your ship glides between Scylla and me, it is this flesh, firm and pungent, that you tear with your teeth while praying to the gods. Drizzle it with oil, moisten it with a little wine — and thank the salt, which steals from the waves what they thought to keep.
Ingredients (period version)
- Fresh tuna or mackerel — as much as the catch allows (flesh to preserve)
- Sea salt — in abundance, to cover (preserving agent)
- Olive oil — for serving (soften and flavor)
- Oregano, coriander seeds — to taste (scent)
Ingredients
- Very fresh tuna or mackerel fillet — 400 g (piece to salt)
- Coarse sea salt — about 1 kg (to cover) (salting)
- Virgin olive oil — 4 tbsp (serving)
- Dried oregano — 1 tsp (scent)
- Coriander seeds, crushed — 1 tsp (scent)
- Wine vinegar or verjuice — 1 tbsp (acidity)
Method
- In a dish, make a bed of coarse salt, place the fish fillet, cover entirely with salt.
- Refrigerate 24 to 36 hours depending on thickness: the flesh should become firm.
- Rinse the fish thoroughly, then soak for 1 to 2 hours in cold water, changed once, to desalt.
- Pat dry, slice into thin strips.
- Arrange on a plate, drizzle with olive oil and a dash of vinegar, sprinkle with oregano and coriander. Serve with *maza*.
How it was made : *Tarichos* (salted fish) was a major product of ancient Mediterranean trade, exchanged across the Greek world. Salting allowed large catches of tuna and mackerel to be preserved well beyond the season, and provided essential protein for sailors and the poor.
The contemporary twist : Served as thin translucent slices carpaccio-style on slate, with a few salt capers and a veil of oil — the ancient ancestor of *bottarga*.
Charybdis · Charactorium