[[File:Lakerda steaks at Kapani market, Thessaloniki.jpg|thumb|250px|Lakerda steaks (center) at a store in Kapani (Agora Vlalì) Market, Thessaloniki.]] {{Short description|Ottoman pickled bonito dish}} {{Infobox food | name = Lakerda | image_size = | image_alt = | caption = Lakerda | alternate_name = | type = Mezze | course = | country = | region = Balkans and Middle East | national_cuisine = | creator = <!-- or | creators = --> | year = | mintime = | maxtime = | served = | main_ingredient = Pickled bonito | minor_ingredient = | variations = | serving_size = 100 g | calories = | calories_ref = | protein = | fat = | carbohydrate = | glycemic_index = | similar_dish = Ceviche | cookbook = | commons = | other = | no_recipes= false }}
'''Lakerda''' (Greek: λακέρδα) is a pickled bonito dish eaten as a mezze in the Balkans and Middle East.<ref name="Wright2003">{{cite book|author=Clifford A. Wright |author-link=Clifford A. Wright |title=Little Foods of the Mediterranean: 500 Fabulous Recipes for Antipasti, Tapas, Hors D'oeuvre, Meze, and More|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x3t2IJeFIh8C&pg=PA14|access-date=7 April 2013|year=2003|publisher=Harvard Common Press|isbn=978-1-55832-227-1|pages=14–}}</ref><ref name="Quataert2000">{{cite book|author=Donald Quataert|title=Consumption Studies and the History of the Ottoman Empire, 1550-1992: An Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GycZF10fP5YC&pg=PA173|access-date=7 April 2013|year=2000|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-1-4384-1662-5|pages=173–}}</ref><ref name="excerpt">Diane Kochilas, ''The Glorious Foods of Greece'', 2001, {{ISBN|0-688-15457-3}}, p. 209 [https://books.google.com/books?id=bs1gWpDn8z4C&pg=PT474 excerpt]</ref> ''Lakerda'' made from one-year-old bonito migrating through the Bosphorus is especially prized.
==Name and history== ''Lakerda'' (λακέρδα) comes from Byzantine Greek ''lakerta'' (λακέρτα) 'mackerel', which in turn comes from Latin ''lacerta'' 'mackerel' or 'horse mackerel'.<ref>Andriotis et al., Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής</ref> The Turkish word ''lakerda'', attested before 1566, is a loan from the Greek.<ref>{{Cite web|title=lakerda - Nişanyan Sözlük|url=https://www.nisanyansozluk.com/?k=lakerda|access-date=2020-10-21|website=Nişanyan Sözlük|language=tr-TR}}</ref>
==History== ''Lakerda'' is very similar to a prized ancient Greek dish, ''tarikhos horaion'' 'ripe salted fish' or simply ''horaion''. Other ancient salt bonito preparations were called ''omotarikhos'' and ''kybion''.<ref>Andrew Dalby, ''Food in the ancient world from A to Z'', 2003, {{ISBN|0-415-23259-7}}, p. 336 [https://books.google.com/books?id=FtIXAe2qYDgC&pg=PA336 snippet]</ref>
''Lakerda'' was also a dish in Byzantine cuisine, being widely served in ''tavernes''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Doğan |first=Murat |date=2025 |title=The effects and contributions of Byzantine cuisine to modern Istanbul cuisine |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s44187-025-00486-4 |journal=Discover Food |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |doi=10.1007/s44187-025-00486-4 |issn=2731-4286|doi-access=free }}</ref>
==Preparation== Steaks of bonito are boned, soaked in brine, then salted and weighted for about a week.<ref>Alan Davidson, ''Mediterranean Seafood'', Penguin, 1972. {{ISBN|0-14-046174-4}}, p. 123</ref> They are then ready to eat, or may be stored in olive oil. Sometimes large mackerel or small tuna are used instead of bonito.
==Serving== In Greece, lakerda is usually served as a mezze, with sliced onion. Lemon juice and olive oil are common but criticized accompaniments.<ref name="excerpt"/> In Turkey, it is usually served as mezze, with sliced red onion, olive oil and black pepper. It is generally accompanied with rakı.
== See also == * Ceviche * Boquerones en vinagre
==Notes== {{Reflist}} {{Cuisine of Greece}} {{Cuisine of Turkey}}
Category:Greek cuisine Category:Byzantine cuisine Category:Ottoman cuisine Category:Uncooked fish dishes Category:Fermented fish Category:Bulgarian cuisine
{{Greece-cuisine-stub}} Category:Turkish cuisine