Corfiot Savoro (Σαβόρο Κέρκυρας)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •large heavy frying pan, 28cm
• •shallow glass or ceramic dish, about 24 x 18cm
• •thin fish spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the fish

   Rinse the cleaned fish and pat them very dry, inside and out. Sprinkle with the salt and leave them on a tray for 15 minutes while you prepare the sauce ingredients. Dry fish fries cleanly. Wet fish stews in the pan and takes the flour with it.

2. 2

   Dust and fry

   Put the 90g flour in a shallow dish. Dust the fish lightly, shake off every loose clump, and fry in batches in the olive oil over medium-high heat, about 2 to 3 minutes per side for small fish. They should be golden at the edges and cooked through, not hard. Lift them into a shallow glass or ceramic dish in one neat layer if you can.

3. 3

   Begin the savoro

   Pour off the frying oil, leaving about 45ml in the pan, and lower the heat to medium-low. Add the sliced garlic and rosemary. Let them scent the oil for 1 minute, just until the garlic turns pale gold at the edges. If it browns hard, start again. Bitter garlic will follow the fish into every bite.

   If the frying oil is full of burnt flour, strain it first or wipe the pan and add 45ml fresh olive oil.
4. 4

   Simmer the vinegar

   Stir in the 10g flour and cook for 30 seconds, then add the vinegar carefully, followed by the water, currants, bay leaf, and black pepper. Simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, scraping the pan, until the currants plump and the sauce turns glossy and lightly thickened. The vinegar is not a garnish here. It is the preserving note, so it must stay clear and firm.

5. 5

   Cover the fish

   Pour the hot savoro sauce over the fried fish, tucking the garlic, currants, and rosemary between them. Spoon sauce over the top until every fish is slicked and seasoned. If the fish are not fully covered, turn them once after an hour so both sides spend time in the vinegar.

6. 6

   Rest and serve

   Let the dish cool, cover it, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, preferably overnight. Serve cool or at room temperature, with the sauce spooned over and bread nearby. This is a kitchen preserve, not a sealed jar, so keep it refrigerated and eat it within 4 days.

Chef Tips

• •Use small firm fish that can stand up to frying and soaking: sardines, gopes, small mullet, or smelt if that is what your fishmonger has fresh. Λίγα και καλά: a few good fish are better than a tray of tired ones.
• •Do not replace the vinegar with lemon. Lemon is for finishing. Savoro needs vinegar's bite and keeping power, or the dish loses its reason.
• •Use a nonreactive dish, glass or ceramic, for the resting. Vinegar sitting overnight in reactive metal will give you a taste you didn't ask for.
• •For strict nistisima days, don't pretend fish is fasting food. Savoro belongs to the permitted fish days and to the old habit of keeping what the sea gave; on the stricter days, cook beans, fava, horta, and oil-rich vegetable dishes.

Advance Preparation

• •Savoro is best made 12 to 24 hours ahead, because the vinegar, rosemary, garlic, and currants need time to settle into the fried fish.
• •The fish can be cleaned and salted up to 2 hours ahead; keep them uncovered in the refrigerator so the surface stays dry.
• •The finished dish keeps refrigerated for up to 4 days. Bring it out 20 minutes before serving so the olive oil loosens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)