Garum
I
n ancienttimes,thisfermentedfishsaucewasmade
fromtheentrailsoffreshfishplacedinvatsand
layeredwithsalt– andsometimesherbs– then
pressedwitha stonetoextracttheessence.It was
usedas a seasoningtoaddsalinityandumamitodishes,
andwassoconcentratedthatonlya fewdropswere
needed.Commonly,it wasdilutedinoliveoil,wineand
vinegartomakesauces,ordilutedwithwaterfordrinking.
Today,colaturad’alici,themorerefinedproduct
fromCampania,is madewithwholeanchovies,while
manyrestaurantsareventuringintomakingtheir
owngarum,includingNoma,whichusesa varietyof
ingredients, such as beef and squid, and even bee pollen.BenDevlin,ofsoon-to-openPipitinPottsville,
NSW,hasalsobeenexperimenting.“Wemakemostof
ourswithseafood– prawnheadandoysterarereallynice,”
hesays.“Ourgreengarlicgarumis a littledifferentinthat
it is a vegansaucemadewithsimilartechniques.”
AtSaintPeterinSydney,theteamturnfishbitsinto
theirowngarum;whileinPerth,GuyGrossi’sosteria,
calledGarum,usesit inthebutterservedwithcrabravioli,
andinjustabouteverythingelse.NinoZoccali,ofSydney’s
Pendolino,particularlylikesit inbraisesandpasta.
A ThaiorKoreanfishsauceis a goodsubstitute,but
rememberthattheflavourandsaltinesswillvary,souse
whatever you choose as you would salt, and season to taste.ThisancientRomanstapleisenjoyinga renaissance
inmodernkitchens,fromRenéRedzepi’sbeef-based
version to chef Ben Devlin’s vegan green garlic sauce.
36 GOURMET TRAVELLER
RECIPE NINO ZOCCALI. STYLING HARRIET DAVIDSON. PHOTOGRAPHY WILL HORNER.