Tarichos, salt mackerel with garos
Mackerel fillets salted then briefly marinated, served with a dash of garos (Greek fermented fish sauce), a veil of vinegar, oil, and oregano — a bold, iodized opson that keeps.
Mackerel fillets salted then briefly marinated, served with a dash of garos (Greek fermented fish sauce), a veil of vinegar, oil, and oregano — a bold, iodized opson that keeps.
You think I ate only the steaming flesh of beasts? I saw the Lycian fishermen pile their fish in salt, there where my flames could not reach them, to defy hunger and winter. That is their cunning against chaos: what salt guards, time does not devour. Taste this tarichos, mortal, with a drop of their garos that smells of fermented sea and a splash of vinegar. This is how you survive when a monster roams the heights: you salt, you store, you hold firm.
- •Fatty fish (mackerel, tuna) — a few pieces (item to preserve)
- •Sea salt — in abundance (salting and preservation)
- •Garos (fermented fish sauce) — a dash (umami seasoning)
- •Wine vinegar — a drizzle (acidity and preservation)
- •Olive oil — a drizzle (binder and softener)
- •Oregano — a pinch (aromatic herb)
Tarichos, salt mackerel with garos
Mackerel fillets salted then briefly marinated, served with a dash of garos (Greek fermented fish sauce), a veil of vinegar, oil, and oregano — a bold, iodized opson that keeps.
Why this dish? The Chimera raged in Lycia, a coastal land on the eastern Aegean, and near Corinth whence Bellerophon came — two worlds of fishermen. Salt fish, tarichos, was the store that allowed people to hold out far from the flocks the monster devastated.
You think I ate only the steaming flesh of beasts? I saw the Lycian fishermen pile their fish in salt, there where my flames could not reach them, to defy hunger and winter. That is their cunning against chaos: what salt guards, time does not devour. Taste this tarichos, mortal, with a drop of their garos that smells of fermented sea and a splash of vinegar. This is how you survive when a monster roams the heights: you salt, you store, you hold firm.
Ingredients (period version)
- Fatty fish (mackerel, tuna) — a few pieces (item to preserve)
- Sea salt — in abundance (salting and preservation)
- Garos (fermented fish sauce) — a dash (umami seasoning)
- Wine vinegar — a drizzle (acidity and preservation)
- Olive oil — a drizzle (binder and softener)
- Oregano — a pinch (aromatic herb)
Ingredients
- Fresh mackerel fillets — 4 fillets (main fish)
- Coarse sea salt — 200 g (for salting) (salting)
- Fish sauce (garos, or nuoc-mam as substitute) — 1–2 tsp (fermented umami)
- Wine vinegar — 2 tbsp (acidic marinade)
- Olive oil — 3 tbsp (marinade)
- Dried oregano — 1 tsp (herb)
Method
- Bury the mackerel fillets in coarse salt and refrigerate for 1.5 to 2 hours to firm them.
- Rinse the fillets thoroughly under cold water and pat dry.
- Place them in a dish, drizzle with vinegar, and let marinate for 20 minutes.
- Drain, coat with olive oil, add a dash of garos, and sprinkle with oregano.
- Serve cold, in small portions, with maza or bread.
How it was made : Tarichos (salted or dried fish) was a major trade in the Greek world: it fed cities far from the coast and was a cheap opson. Garos, the Greek ancestor of Roman garum, was an ubiquitous fermented fish sauce, the ancient equivalent of a flavor enhancer. Salting and fermentation were the great preservation techniques before refrigeration.
The contemporary twist : Arrange the glossy fillets in a fan on a slate, with a dash of garos and a rain of oregano: an "ancient ceviche" that surprises guests used to modern raw preparations.
Sources : Athenaeus of Naucratis, The Deipnosophists (salted fish and garos) · Robert I. Curtis, Garum and Salsamenta: Production and Commerce in Materia Medica (1991)
Chimera · Charactorium