| Type | Mezze |
|---|---|
| Region or state | Balkans and Middle East |
| Main ingredients | Pickled bonito |
| Similar dishes | Ceviche |
Lakerda is a pickled bonito dish eaten as a mezze in the Balkans and Middle East.[1][2][3] Lakerda made from one-year-old bonito migrating through the Bosphorus is especially prized.
Name[edit]
Lakerda (λακέρδα) comes from Byzantine Greek lakerta (λακέρτα) 'mackerel', which in turn comes from Latin lacerta 'mackerel' or 'horse mackerel'.[4] The Turkish word lakerda, attested before 1566, is a loan from the Greek.[5]
Preparation[edit]
Steaks of bonito are boned, soaked in brine, then salted and weighted for about a week.[6] They are then ready to eat, or may be stored in olive oil. Sometimes large mackerel or small tuna are used instead of bonito.
Serving[edit]
In Greece, lakerda is usually served as a mezze, with sliced onion. Lemon juice and olive oil are common but criticized accompaniments.[3] In Turkey, it is usually served as mezze, with sliced red onion, olive oil and black pepper. It is generally accompanied with rakı.
History[edit]
Lakerda is very similar to a prized ancient Greek dish, tarikhos horaion 'ripe salted fish' or simply horaion. Other ancient salt bonito preparations were called omotarikhos and kybion.[7]
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^ Clifford A. Wright (2003). Little Foods of the Mediterranean: 500 Fabulous Recipes for Antipasti, Tapas, Hors D'oeuvre, Meze, and More. Harvard Common Press. pp. 14–. ISBN 978-1-55832-227-1. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
- ^ Donald Quataert (2000). Consumption Studies and the History of the Ottoman Empire, 1550-1992: An Introduction. SUNY Press. pp. 173–. ISBN 978-1-4384-1662-5. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
- ^ a b Diane Kochilas, The Glorious Foods of Greece, 2001, ISBN 0-688-15457-3, p. 209 excerpt
- ^ Andriotis et al., Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής
- ^ "lakerda - Nişanyan Sözlük". Nişanyan Sözlük (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-10-21.
- ^ Alan Davidson, Mediterranean Seafood, Penguin, 1972. ISBN 0-14-046174-4, p. 123
- ^ Andrew Dalby, Food in the ancient world from A to Z, 2003, ISBN 0-415-23259-7, p. 336 snippet
