Fish Roe Spread (Salata de Icre)

Name: Fish Roe Spread (Salata de Icre)
Cuisine: Romanian
Ingredients: 50g fish roe; 3 slices fresh fluffy white bread without crust (about 35g); 5 tablespoons milk; 2 tablespoons lemon juice + a little for the start; 3 tablespoons sparkling water; 1 small onion (about 50g); oil (about 300-350 ml)

November 10, 2009

Appetizers Fish and Seafood Salads Romanian

Recipe: Fish Roe Spread (Salata de Icre)

On Saturday I received, thanks to Aunt Marioara's kindness (Radu's mother's sister), a little jar of salted roe bought directly from fishermen. Of course, she gave me the fish roe spread recipe because we never made it at home. I can't compare this recipe to another homemade fish roe spread, but what came out is muuuch better than store-bought prepared roe. The taste is very delicate and the texture is fluffier.

Ingredients

50g fish roe
3 slices fresh fluffy white bread without crust (about 35g)
5 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice + a little for the start
3 tablespoons sparkling water
1 small onion (about 50g)
oil (about 300-350 ml)

How to prepare fish roe spread (salata de icre)

If the roe is in brine, cover it with water and leave for 30 minutes. Then drain using a tea strainer or cheesecloth. If it's not salted, skip this step.
Drizzle the torn bread pieces with milk and then crumble with a fork.
Place the roe in a bowl over steam and heat for a few minutes until it feels hot, stirring meanwhile. Warm roe breaks up more easily.
Put the roe over the bread together with a little lemon juice and rub everything well with a wooden spoon so that the roe breaks apart.
Then we start slowly adding oil in a thin stream while stirring continuously, exactly like making mayonnaise. You'll see the roe multiply just like mayonnaise. Add oil until the mixture becomes very thick. Then sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sparkling water and continue adding oil until the "mayonnaise" becomes thick again. Sprinkle again with 1 tablespoon of water and add more oil until it thickens. Sprinkle with sparkling water again and add oil until the roe holds on the spoon.
Finally, season with salt (not necessary if the roe was in brine), pepper, add the very finely chopped onion, and add the lemon juice.
Place the spread in a bowl and decorate as desired with olives, parsley, or pickled pepper slices.