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Batarekh

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. The salted, dried, and pressed roe of the gray mullet was prized as a great delicacy since the time of the Pharaohs and is still considered so by Egyptians today. It has a deep sienna-brown color, a firm hard texture, and rich strong flavor. The taste is an acquired one which can become a passion. It is usually sold sealed in a wax coating. Remove the wax and serve it sliced very thinly on small slices of bread, either buttered or dipped in olive oil. If you like, squeeze a little lemon juice over it.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
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