Chef Dimitra
Athenian Besamel for Moussaka and Pastitsio (Μπεσαμέλ Αθηναϊκή)
Athens gave Greek baking this thick white crown: a cooked butter-flour sauce enriched with eggs and cheese for moussaka, pastitsio, and the Sunday pan.
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Aegean Islands Ladolemono (Λαδολέμονο)
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Aegean ladolemono is the quick oil-and-lemon sauce for grilled fish, boiled greens, and potatoes: cloudy when beaten hard, sharp enough to wake everything it touches on the plate.
Sauces & Condiments
Greek
Quick Meal
Weeknight
5 min
Active Time
0 min cook•5 min total
YieldAbout 180ml, enough for 4 servings
Aegean Islands ladolemono is olive oil and lemon beaten into a cloudy green-gold sauce, the thing a grilled fish waits for before anyone lifts a fork. In the Cyclades and across the Aegean fish table, it is not decoration. It is the final seasoning: sharp lemon, good oil, salt, and sometimes a pinch of rigani (Greek oregano) if the grill has left its mark.
The method is small and it matters. Dissolve the salt in the lemon first, then whisk in the oil hard and gradually until the sauce turns opaque. Oil and lemon want to separate; you make them stay together for the few minutes dinner needs. If it splits, shake it again. No tragedy.
I use it on sea bream, boiled horta, chickpeas, potatoes, and grilled vegetables, especially on the fasting table where oil and lemon carry more than people admit. This is λίγα και καλά (liga kai kala): a few things, and good ones. Your grandmother cooked it by eye because she'd made it a thousand times. Here are the numbers until you have.
Ladolemono is named by its ingredients: ladi (λάδι, oil) and lemoni (λεμόνι, lemon). It belongs especially to the island and coastal fish table of the Aegean, where grilled seafood, boiled greens, potatoes, and pulses are finished after cooking rather than covered by a cooked sauce. Its importance also comes from the Orthodox fasting calendar: on the many nistisima meals where oil is permitted, lemon, herbs, vegetables, and pulses could make dinner without meat or dairy.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
60ml
strained, from about 2 medium lemons
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon (about 3g)
extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil
Quantity
120ml
dried Greek oregano (rigani) (optional)
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
crushed between your fingers
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh lemon juicestrained, from about 2 medium lemons | 60ml |
| fine sea salt | 1/2 teaspoon (about 3g) |
| extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil | 120ml |
| dried Greek oregano (rigani) (optional)crushed between your fingers | 1/2 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •small balloon whisk
- •250ml glass jar with tight lid
- •fine mesh strainer
Instructions
- 1
Salt the lemon
Juice the lemons, strain out seeds and heavy pulp, and measure 60ml. Stir the salt into the lemon juice until the grains disappear. Salt dissolves in lemon, not in oil, so do this before the olive oil goes in.
- 2
Whisk the oil
Set the bowl on a damp cloth so it doesn't slide. Whisk the lemon with one hand and pour in the olive oil in a thin stream with the other, keeping the whisk moving until the sauce turns cloudy and slightly thick, pale yellow-green. This is the whole trick: oil and lemon separate unless you break the oil into small drops, so add oil to lemon and whisk hard. A lidded jar works too; shake it hard for 20 seconds.
If the sauce separates on the table, it hasn't failed. Whisk or shake it back together just before spooning. - 3
Taste on food
If using rigani, rub it between your fingers over the sauce and stir once. Taste the ladolemono with a piece of bread, a potato, or a leaf of horta, not by sipping from the spoon. It should taste sharper than a salad dressing; the food will soften it.
- 4
Serve at once
Spoon over grilled fish, boiled greens, boiled potatoes, chickpeas, or grilled vegetables while the food is hot or warm. Do not boil ladolemono in the pan. It is the finish, the bright last thing, and it loses its clean edge if you cook it.
Chef Tips
- •Fresh lemon matters more than fancy technique. Bottled lemon juice tastes flat and bitter here, because there is nowhere for it to hide.
- •Use an olive oil you'd happily dip bread into. A peppery Koroneiki makes the cleanest sauce; if your oil is very bitter, choose a milder Greek extra virgin oil rather than trying to cover it.
- •For grilled fish, keep it plain or add a little rigani; for horta and boiled potatoes, plain is often better. Λίγα και καλά.
- •Don't use mustard unless you're choosing a family variation on purpose. It holds the sauce longer, but the classic table sauce should taste of oil, lemon, and salt.
Advance Preparation
- •Juice and strain the lemons up to 4 hours ahead; keep covered and chilled.
- •Whisk the sauce up to 30 minutes before eating; shake or whisk again because separation is normal.
- •Leftover ladolemono keeps 1 day chilled, but it tastes brightest the first hour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 44g)
Calories
245 calories
Total Fat
27 g
Saturated Fat
4 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
23 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
290 mg
Total Carbohydrates
1 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
0 g
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