Ψάρι σαβόρο με κουκιά (Μαγειρεύω Κυπριακά 2015). © Μουσείο Κυπριακών Τροφίμων και Διατροφής.
Savoro is a sauce made of vinegar, flour, oil and garlic, in which Cypriots used to preserve fish in the days when there were no refrigerators. Fish would be preserved in this sauce for about a week.
Name - Recipe
Ψάρι σαβόρο.
Our Byzantine ancestors used to call the sauces "savoures". They borrowed "savoura" from the Latin savor, which means delicious. Faidon Koukoules in his book "Byzantine Life and Culture" wrote about the Byzantine sauces: "those that during the last centuries are called sauces, used to be called savoures from the Latin sapor."
1 kg fried red mullet or other (medium-sized) fish or picarel
5 tbsp olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
2-3 sprigs of rosemary
2 cups vinegar (+ 1/2 cup water if you prefer a thinner vinegar)
1 ½ - 2 teaspoons flour
Salt
After frying the fish, salt them and place them on a deep platter. In a pan, sauté the garlic in olive oil and add the rosemary. Dissolve the flour in about a cup of vinegar and add it along with the remaining vinegar (plus water) in the pan. Add salt and stir to combine the ingredients. When the mixture comes to a boil, pour it over the fish (to cover the fish). (MANRE 2006, 11)
Frying.
Sautéing.
Boiling.
Functional and symbolic role
Savoro is a sauce made of vinegar, flour, oil and garlic, in which Cypriots used to preserve fish in the days when there were no refrigerators. Fish were preserved in this sauce for about a week. In the past, wild red mushrooms were preserved using the same method. The vinegar, which is the basis of the savoro, is a preservative, while the rosemary has disinfectant properties. Fish is a food rich in protein and nutrients.
Additional information and bibliography
Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, Department of Agriculture (2006). Cypriot traditional preparations, Press and Information Office, Nicosia.
Florentia Kythraiotou, Varvara Yangou
Ψάρι σαβόρο (Μαγειρεύω Κυπριακά 2013). Πηγή: Στάλω Λαζάρου.
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