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Here is the tarama with espelette pepper. Since I participated in the little M6 report (which doesn’t even say I have a cooking blog…) I offer you one tarama recipe per week. This time, it’s a very original association that I discovered in the show’s store. A delicious tarama, spiced up just right for the pleasure of our palate. Making your own tarama is more than simple, so get your whips!
Why does the mayonnaise hold (it’s the same principle as tarama)? Thanks to the surface-active molecules of the egg yolk which have a hydrophilic end and a lipophilic end (one that likes water and the other oil!). The water soluble end is placed in water (or milk here) and the other in oil. This is what holds it all together. To the naked eye, mayonnaise looks coherent, while under the microscope it is droplets of oil dispersed in the small amount of water (mustard or vinegar for mayo). For the tarama it’s the same: just add a tiny bit of egg yolk (so little that it won’t have any taste) which will act as a catalyst giving cohesion to the preparation. There is the water in the milk (from the bread) and the oil that is added. With this, the tarama is forced to hold and emulsify. With my new order of preparation, we can’t miss anymore. It is necessary to respect the times of stirring (especially the yellow with the soaked bread, then with a little oil). When the cod (or mullet) eggs are added, the emulsion has already started and cannot be stopped! The trick is to use chemistry.
Recipe of the “tarama” for 4 to 6 persons:
-70g of bread crumbs (bread without the crust, but quality bread!)
-1/2 egg yolk (just take a little yolk)
-a 280g bag of smoked cod eggs (or mullets if available)
-170g to 200g of oil
-1/2 glass of milk
-1 spoonful of chili powder for 150g of tarama
Start by removing the crust from the bread. I bought bread from Poilâne, which has a dense and delicious crumb. It is very easy with a fresh crumb.
Put the crumb in a bowl and pour enough milk to soak it completely.
Wring out the crumb in your hand. Remove excess milk from bowl. Return the crushed crumb to the bowl. If the bread still has a little milk in it, that’s good because the tarama will hold up even better!
Add half an egg yolk (this will not give any taste, but provides the protein needed to emulsify the oil).
Mix at low speed with an electric whisk for 2 minutes, to break down the proteins in the egg yolk and milk.
Add the equivalent of two or three spoonfuls of oil while still mixing at low speed. This will start the emulsion. The oil immediately begins to enclose itself in small “capsules” of water (which comes from the milk and thanks to the half-yolk).
Here is an egg pocket of smoked cod.
Open it with a knife on one side. All that remains is to remove the eggs with a spoon.
Add the eggs (without the skin of the pocket).
Then start mixing until all the pocket pieces are gone.
Add the remaining oil in a thin stream, slowly rising just like a mayonnaise.
Do not make the tarama with a blender as I read in some recipes!
Then with an electric whisk, add the oil in a stream, very gently, just like a mayonnaise! I made my tarama on the fly, trying to get the best result possible. But I weighed everything before and after, so the proportions I listed above are the ideal ones for me.
Regarding the addition of lemon, I prefer to leave it up to each person to add it to the tarama at the time of tasting!
Once all the oil has been added, mix well with a spoon, scraping the edges to incorporate everything.
Weigh the tarama you want in the “chili” version. I use 1 teaspoon of chilli for 150g of tarama. You can put more or less. Espelette pepper does not sting much, so a teaspoon for 150g of tarama seems to me a good compromise! In fact, you can make just half of the tarama (or even a third) and the rest in classic tarama, crab etc..
Put in a cool place under stretch film.
