I can't help you find the cod roe but I had taramasalata in a wonderful Turkish fish restaurant, Limon, in Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn recently.

I'm in Houston. We shop at Phoenicia Specialty Foods, their number is 281-558-8225 and their website is phoeniciafoods.com. I think it is listed under Fish Products. You can buy a taramasalata already prepared in a refrigerated jar - it is good, or you can buy the red roe and make it yourself. The recipe posted above from glenda is about the same that my Greek mom makes. Sorry I can't remember the brands, I know them by sight only. If you can't get any help from them, I will glad to look the next I'm there, which isn't all that often as it's now across town; however, my mom goes about once a month and I can ask her. Remember to drizzle with good Greek olive oil before serving...yum!

Thanks, dreamhouse. I'll give them a call and see if they will ship some to me. Maybe some greek olive oil, too. HEB used to carry the greek stuff, only one brand, and it was delicious! They stopped selling that one at the stores near me, anyway. :(

I'm sorry Glenda! I meant to thank you for posting the recipe and flaked! Having 2 elderly house guests (with tons of errands to run all over creation) with 3 cats in addition to my two cats and one dog has left me more than a little foggy, LOL.

Hey! I too have been on the hunt for taramasalata like Carlo's used to prepare. Krinos is the closest, but nothing compares to Carlo's.

Why not try making your own. Very simple ingredients and so much better than from a jar.

We actually prefer making smoked salmon 'caviar' or usually called 'pate'. Using a similar recipe by soaking good crusty bread in yogurt. Blending very smooth with lemon and zest, some dill, using half the salmon...then adding the rest of the salmon chopped with coarse chopped olives, green onion, chopped dill for garnish. Cream cheese is a better choice for richness but don't usually stock it. I almost always have goat cheese so i've added a bit of that...

My mother uses tinned salmon and pimento olives.

Salmon or cod roe is easily found on-line now if you want to replicate the traditional recipe.

I have tried several different recipes, and just can't get close to what the restaurant that trsinc and I recall of Carlo's. I used to buy a very large order from there and we would have taramasalata for dinner. I am quite sure theirs didn't have a bit of anything you listed other than roe. I need to try again. Thanks!

It is an interesting challenge. A shame the recipe you love is not available. Wonder if they used cod roe. It is very different than what one thinks of roe. I've got some in the freezer and we call them 'britches' as they look like a pair of baggy pants.

Like any recipe must be many variations.

"Tarama is a nickname for taramasalata (or taramosalata), a Greek dip that is often served as part of a meze platter with drinks before dinner.

The authentic Greek dish is a creamy, smooth paste made with fish roe (tarama) that is combined with milk- or water-soaked (and squeezed dry) bread, plus lemon juice and grated onion. The mixture is then emulsified with olive oil until it reaches a whipped consistency. Tarama is served with grilled pita bread or crudités.

Tarama is popular the world over and can be bought prepared, although store-bought tarama is often poor in quality and has added pink food coloring as well as cream, egg yolks, mashed potato, gelatin or other unnecessary thickeners. Fresh tarama is simple to make at home, and the bread and olive oil lend it natural body and richness."

(darn lost the link)

...dh hates them and leaves the house when i set them to simmer. I should probably use the smoker outside and may be better flavor.

I'm in the land of fresh cod right now. King crab and lobster season right now. Lobster pots going in today as the season opens tomorrow.

Just a thought -- Maybe the binder wasn't bread. My family always used boiled potato. They used potato for skordalia too. Here's a recipe using potatoes instead of soaked bread. I prefer the potato flavor, but that's just me.

Taramasalata

2 medium potatoes, peeled and boiled

½ cup tarama (fish roe)

1 small onion, minced

Juice of 2 lemons

¾ cup olive oil

Water, as needed

2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

Using a blender, electric mixer, food processor, or old-fashioned mortar and pestle, thoroughly blend the potatoes, tarama, lemon juice, and onion . Add the olive oil in a slow, thin stream, blending at medium speed; add a little water if the mixture thickens too much. The taramosalata should be smooth and salmon pink in color. Sprinkle with parsley. Chill well and allow to thicken before serving.

There was this mom and pop place near where I went to college that made the most amazing taramasalata, and I don't seem to have a fish allergy to the roe. It was very rich and thick with the little eggs. What I've seen recently has been more like mayonnaise with some red dots. Perhaps it doesn't have the starchy binder? I don't know if I'll be making it (though the recipe discussion is very interesting) but it used to be one of my very favorite treats and y'all have given me a hankering...

This is cod roe. Most often used. Not pretty. And not pretty when cooked and often tinted with red dye in the jared processed variety. Like a corn meal texture when cooked. Like i mentioned smoking would be a nicer natural color. But DH is not on board with that, lol. And he likes everything fish and savory so i ruined him for life simmering them on the stove-top. : )...a bit stinky.

He loves scrapple that is my youth. For some reason loves it. Acquired tastes are subjective? Childhood memories come into play i suppose. Imbedded in a taste memory like childhood treats i am rarely disappointed but many i'm quite taken aback.

I do find it so true that flavor loves are skewed once a recipe is found. Realizing what is in it. : )

Is the original source a restaurant no longer? I would find via a relative and get that recipe!

Sleevendog, is that a small plate or big roesacks? (I only know about Pacific rock cod which we used to catch when I was young, and those aren't big fish). I didn't know that the red dots in the kind I've seen recently were dyed, but they do look it, now that you tell me so. The delight of my college years (yes, from a long gone and forgotten place) had a very delicate color and flavor, and sounds like the description you quoted. Greek food is similar in many ways to the Middle Eastern food I grew up on, but "exotic" from being just different enough, and has always been a favorite. 'Course when I got to Greece, during a college vacation, from a month travelling in Europe, I had this ahhhh moment and finally felt at home. Must have looked like it too, because other foreigners kept asking me for directions. :)

Roe sacks. Big buddies. Maybe two fat fingers, : )

Cod we catch here are often the size of a cary-on suitcase. 20-30lbs. (this is Newfoundland where i am right now)

In school, RISD, (RhodeIslanSchoollOfDesign),I lived i Greece twice. During winter session, then back again for almost a year later after graduation in Rome. I have so many memories that are just surfacing when i read of dishes i had those years past. I was traveling so much and not thinking much about how fortunate i was. Tunisia, Istanbul...i was just a kid. Fearless and fun and a super education culinary.

Now in Newfoundland and salting my own cod and making sea salt, and having so many friends over the years in NYC...culinary full circle having known Jim from bread no-nead and DavidKinch from killing the Iron Chef and winning...Knowing BobbieFlay when he cooked as a small fry kitchen guy.

Culinary history and its resurrection and translations fascinates me. It does need to adapt to modern ingredients and not be so tied to past recipes.

We pay attention and hope to save our bees, our eagles, our fish supply....

Just having eaten shad roe yesterday - could that substitute for cod roe? I've never tried taramasalata but it sounds like I'd love it.

Shambo, I like the idea of the potatoes over the bread.