Lakerda Recipe (Greek Salt-Cured Bonito)

Lakerda is what the Greeks of Constantinople did with the bonito that came through the Bosphorus every autumn, and it followed them to Greece in 1922. It is still the meze that serious ouzo drinkers order first, and it is one of the few genuinely great cured fish anywhere in the Mediterranean.

There is no cooking and no smoking involved. Coarse salt draws water out of thick steaks of bonito over four to six days and firms the flesh into something dense and silky, somewhere between a good tuna and a very superior anchovy but far milder than either.

The only difficult part is timing. Under-cured lakerda is soft and tastes raw, over-cured lakerda is dry and unpleasantly salty, and the window between them is about two days. Get it right and the reward is a jar in the fridge that will keep for weeks and improve for the first two.

Key preparation steps

1. Bleed and clean thick steaks of bonito thoroughly.
2. Bury the steaks in coarse salt for four to six days.
3. Rinse, soak briefly and dry completely.
4. Pack under olive oil and rest before eating.

What fish do I need for lakerda?

Bonito, palamida in Greek, caught in autumn when the fish are fat. It should be very fresh and large enough to give steaks four to five centimetres thick, since thin pieces cure through too quickly and go dry.

Small tuna or albacore are workable substitutes with the same method. Oily fish such as mackerel and sardine are not: they are too soft, too strongly flavoured, and they turn mushy rather than firm in salt.

Why does the fish have to be bled first?

Blood left in the flesh goes metallic and dark during the cure and ruins the flavour of the finished lakerda. This is the step that separates a good jar from a bad one and it cannot be skipped.

Cut the fish into steaks, remove the guts and the dark bloodline running along the backbone, then soak the pieces in several changes of cold water for two or three hours until the water stays clear. Some cooks add a little vinegar to the last change.

How long should the salt cure take?

Four to six days in the fridge, depending on thickness. Steaks four centimetres thick are usually right at day five. Press the flesh: cured fish feels firm and springs back, while under-cured fish still gives softly under a finger.

Bury the pieces completely in coarse salt, not fine, and pour off the liquid that collects each day. Fine salt penetrates too fast and produces a harsh, over-salted result no amount of soaking will fix.

How is lakerda served and stored?

In thick slices, about a centimetre, laid out on a plate with raw onion rings, a heavy pour of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and nothing else. Bread on the side. It is a cold plate and should never see any heat.

Stored in a jar, fully covered with olive oil, it keeps three to four weeks in the fridge. Take it out twenty minutes before serving so the olive oil comes clear and the flavour opens up, since fridge-cold lakerda tastes of very little.

What matters in this dish