054Fried fish in rosemary and vinegar sauce

Method

Ionian sweet and sour fish. Traditionally served at room temperature as a main or substantial meze.

You will need

• heavy frying pan
• splatter screen
• shallow ceramic dish
• tongs

1. Season the dried fish with sea salt and black pepper, then dust them lightly in the plain flour, shaking off all excess. 5 min Ready when: lightly and evenly coated with flour
2. Heat 100 ml of olive oil in a wide frying pan over medium-high heat and fry the fish in batches for three to four minutes per side until golden and crisp. 8 min Ready when: skins golden crisp and flesh cooked through
3. Transfer the fried fish to a shallow ceramic or glass serving dish, arranging them neatly in a single layer. 2 min Ready when: fish settled in serving dish
4. Discard any burnt sediment from the frying pan, retain or add remaining clean olive oil to leave about 3 tablespoons, and lower the heat to medium. 2 min Ready when: clean hot oil ready in pan
5. Add the sliced garlic and rosemary sprigs to the pan, sautéing gently for one minute until the garlic is pale golden and fragrant without scorching. 1 min Ready when: garlic fragrant and lightly coloured
6. Stir in 1 tablespoon of leftover dredging flour and toast it for thirty seconds, then pour in the red wine vinegar, water, and Corinthian raisins. 2 min Ready when: sauce sizzles and thickens slightly
7. Simmer the sauce for three minutes until glossy and slightly syrupy, then pour it boiling hot over the fried fish, ensuring each piece is well moistened. 3 min Ready when: fish fully coated with hot aromatic marinade
8. Allow the dish to cool completely to room temperature for at least two hours before serving so the fish absorbs the flavours. 120 min Ready when: thoroughly cooled and infused

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Make ahead and storing

Best prepared several hours ahead or the day before, as flavours improve with time.

Cover and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before eating.

Substitutions

• sardines, picarel (marida), or mackerel for red mullet or other small whole fish. Any fresh oily or small firm fish handles the vinegar marinade well.

Common mistakes

• Burning the sliced garlic in the hot oil. Burnt garlic turns acrid and completely ruins the sweet-and-sour balance of the vinegar sauce.
• Serving immediately straight from the pan. Savoro requires time to pickle and permeate the fried fish; it tastes significantly better once cold or at room temperature.

Regional variants

• Zakynthos savoro with chopped ripe tomatoes cooked into the vinegar sauce
• Corfiot version using rosemary needles detached from stems and a pinch of ground clove

About the dish

Savoro is an enduring legacy of the Venetian presence in the Ionian Islands, deriving from the Venetian 'in saor' (meaning flavour or savour). Originally developed as a preservation method for fishermen before refrigeration existed, fresh small fish were dusted with flour, shallow-fried, and layered in a hot marinade of red wine vinegar, rosemary, garlic, and raisins. As the dish rests, the vinegar mellows, the rosemary infuses the oil, and the fish bones soften, making it ideal served at room temperature the next day.

Found in Ionian Islands. Cooked for everyday, summer.

Cousins elsewhere

• Sarde in saor (Italian). A direct Venetian relative using sweet-and-sour vinegar marinade to preserve fried fish on long boat journeys.
• Escabeche (Spanish). Parallel Mediterranean technique of preserving fried fish in an aromatic acidic sauce.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

683 kcal · protein 42.1 g · fat 42.5 g (saturated 6.7 g) · carbohydrate 31 g (sugars 7.5 g) · fibre 1.5 g · sodium 139 mg

An estimate (summed from ingredient estimates) that varies with the exact ingredients. It is not dietary advice.

Written fresh by Epikouria editors from general culinary tradition. Recipe by the Epikouria editors. Heptanesian Venetian-era preservation tradition, common across Corfu, Zakynthos, and Cephalonia..

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