Photo by BBC

Sarakosti (The Great Lent is a Christian Orthodox tradition. It’s a 50 day period of fasting, during which people do not eat all meat & animal products(eggs, dairy) except seafood (however fish isn’t allowed). This is actually a traditional Greek version of a vegetarian diet, that’s also followed before Christmas, before the Dormition of the Mother of God in August and every Wednesday & Friday. Taramasalata (taramosalata) is one of the most popular dips that Greeks eat during that period. 

Here is one of our favorite recipes from our food blogger friend Eugenia.

Taramasalata with bread

• 500 gr stale bread, soaked, once the crusts were removed I had approx 320 gr of bread
• 15 gr cod roe (tarama)
• 150 ml olive oil
• 2 medium lemons, for their juice
• ½ an onion
• 1 tsp dill

Photo by EatYourselfGreek

What to do

Soak the bread in water and remove the crusts. I normally get a traditional loaf from the bakery that has a thick, crunchy crust which is easy to remove after soaking. Squeeze out all the excess water, the bread should be left with very little moisture. Add it to the blender with the onion, dill and tarama. Mix well and add the lemon juice. Keep on mixing and start adding your olive oil a bit at a time.