Welcome to the first post in our new blog, The Garum Factory. You can read all about garum, why we decided to name our blog after it, and what this blog is all about in About this, but for the sake of people in a hurry here’s a quick and dirty explanation.
Garum was the ketchup of the gods in Imperial Rome, the supreme condiment. It was a fish sauce, not in the sense of something you put on fish, but rather something made from fish. Romans slathered it on everything and high quality garum was priced at levels that only the very rich could afford. (I guess they needed something to add a little kick to all of those boiled larks tongues.) To modern sensibilities the Roman obsession with garum can seem a bit puzzling, especially in light of how garum is made. Imagine a basket of raw fish, now mix the fish with salt, now leave the basket to bake beneath the Mediterranean sun for, oh, three or four weeks. As the fish ferments some liquid will start to ooze out of the bottom of the basket. That’s garum.
Still reading? The decline of the Roman Empire meant the decline of garum. It continues to be made in a few places in the Mediterranean, primarily around Naples, where it’s called colatura, but it’s not well known. In Asian cuisine fish sauce has a place of honor; it’s a critical ingredient. But in Western cooking garum has almost disappeared. Too bad. Despite the smelly oh-gross-you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me aspect of its manufacture, garum itself is quite tasty. And as any Asian cook will tell you, fish sauce is a great way to instantly add some oomph to a dish that tastes a little underwhelming – like late night pasta where speed is at a premium.
Nuoc mam, Thai fish sauce, is manufactured using essentially the same process as that of the Romans, albeit a tad cleaned up and modernized. In Asia the fermented fish are sometimes pressed to encourage the release of even more liquid. That, and the length of time devoted to the fermentation process, are really the only differences.
Colatura, modern garum, has a rich meaty flavor that evokes high-end tuna packed in oil. I can’t claim to be an expert on nuoc mam, but the two or three kinds that seem to rotate through our fridge have a sharper saltier quality than colatura and more of a one-note anchovy taste, a distinction I might have expected, given their pricing. A few ounces of colatura ($16) costs the same as several liters of nuoc mam. A splash of colatura in extra virgin olive oil is a great dipping sauce, and you can’t go wrong sprinkling it on grilled seafood or adding a spoonful to a light pasta sauce (strong flavors will overwhelm it). Even if you take a pass on colatura it’s worth picking up a bottle of nuoc mam to broaden your ingredients list. We use nuoc mam about as often as we use anchovy paste, and for roughly the same things–soups, stews, stir-fries and even on watermelon (okay, we don’t use anchovy paste on watermelon, but we do use nuoc mam).
Garum is a primary ingredient in one of our house’s favorite pasta dishes. The schedules in our family–chef-wife, writer-dad, dancer-daughter–are so out of sync that we often end up cooking late, when all of us are finally home. Pasta aglio e olio ranks high on the list of midnight meals, but at the butt end of an evening peeling 27 cloves of garlic can seem like a chore. A faster, easier alternative is spaghetti with tomatoes, garlic and a couple of spoonfuls of garum. You can use either garum or nuoc mam in our recipe. We like ingredients where a little goes a long way and garum fits the bill. After tasting it, you may even forget how it’s made.
Spaghetti with grape tomatoes, garlic and garum
Start with 1 tablespoon of colatura or fish sauce, then taste, adding more if you like.
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound spaghetti
- ¼ cup full-bodied extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 1½ pints grape tomatoes, rinsed and cut in half
- 2 tablespoons garlic, sliced paper thin
- ½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon colatura (see note at end of post for purchasing info) or nuoc mam, plus more if you like it
- ½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt. Add the pasta and stir constantly until the water returns to a boil. Cook until al dente, about 10 minutes.
While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes in a single layer, season with a pinch of salt and cook, without moving them, for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes, tossing a few times. Watch the garlic carefully–you don’t want it to burn. If necessary, lower the heat. Add the hot red pepper flakes and colatura and remove from the heat.
When the pasta is al dente, scoop it out of the water and add it directly to the sauté pan with the sauce along with ½ cup of the pasta cooking water. Put the pan back on a medium heat. Stir the pasta and sauce together until the spaghetti is evenly coated. Stir in the parsley.
Serve in warm pasta bowls, and offer grated cheese and olive oil for drizzling.
Jody notes:
Those of you who know me, know that when I get on hooked on something, it sticks to me like smoke and then I seem to find it in all corners of my travels… like that new word you discover and find every time you open up a book or a newspaper. Remember dukkah? I stumbled upon it in a Claudia Roden’s book, fell in love and then found it on tables from Iceland to South Africa. I had to restrain myself from putting it on every dish at Rialto. We still keep a Mason jar full of it at home and at the restaurant, but now that Rialto is Italian, I’m forced to use it more sparingly.
Last fall I was thumbing through the Zingerman’s catalogue and came across their colatura. I was intrigued and passed the information to Brian, Rialto chef de cuisine. Fast forward to early February. I had just returned from a trip to South East Asia and was all about simple noodle dishes with lots of vegetables, herbs and fish sauce. This is far from Italian, but Brian and sous chef Peter were able to translate my enthusiasm into an amazing Italianesque bass dish with almonds, green peppers and garum. Hey hey, I discovered that the Asia and Mediterranean fish sauces had the same two ingredients … anchovies and salt. So garum is the new dukkah. We are putting it in everything at Rialto and of course, seeing it all over the place now.
Buying garum: You can find garum available from lots of online retailers, where it goes under various names–colatura, anchovy juice, anchovy syrup and garum. The one we bought from Zingerman’s mail order was $16 for a bit less than three and a half ounces.
The Garum Factory 
Great photos/writing, good start. Buying colatura this weekend. Sounds like it works in just about everything other than the morning smoothie.
Did we leave out smoothies?
Any suggested substitutes for garum / colatura? IE What if you’re at the ranch and no foodie stores are nearby? Great lookin’ recipe. Can’t wait to try it.
Hmm… if you don’t have an Asian fish sauce handy I’d just go with the rest of the recipe as it is–it just won’t have the marine wrinkle that garum would give it. When you get back to civilization buy a couple of bottles of fish sauce and leave them at the ranch–they last forever.
Ever tried a dash of red wine? peanut butter? mustard?…
If you’re talking about the cod in parchment, the answer is NO to all three. However, I have used white wine and I can imagine circumstances in which peanut butter and mustard would both work. Thanks for the suggestion.
Hey! This is great!. Congratulations on your new blog. Now you have a dragon in the house….I look forward to reading it! xxoo (p.s., Ken, maybe you can give me wordpress lessons!)
Thanks. As soon as I figure out WordPress you’ll be the first to know. By the way, I checked out your blog (www.bakecupcakes.blogspot.com)–I don’t think you need any lessons from us. Super pics.
This is great. Can’t wait to start learning from you again! Jody, the time I worked in your kitchen taught me the most out of any culinary experience i’ve had since. Can’t wait to keep reading.
So glad you like it Sharon. We are having a ton of fun. What are you up to these days?
Iif we take a very rich bacalao dry to the point of pulverization, could it work on similar ways if mixed with different oils?I bet the flavor would be unique.
Salt cod is one our favorite things in the world. I actually prefer the taste of salt cod to fresh. Maybe we need to do a post on salting your own cod. Regarding garum, the key to the flavor is fermentation over time. Salting fish for preservation involves drying the fish out, removing as much of the liquid as fast as possible in order to reduce bacterial activity, the opposite of fermentation. Oil flavored with salted fish might be delicious, but it wouldn’t taste the same as fermented fish sauce. Good luck. I’d use the salt cod for brandade and buy a bottle of garum instead.
This is gorgeous! Sending you best wishes for huge success~
Carol thanks so much. we are having lots of fun. but as you know… a steep learning curve. hope all is well. xox jody
Hi Jody, love the new blog, can’t wait for more. My colatura arrived in in the mail today – WOW! Can’t wait to try this recipe…
thanks so much john. we are putting colutura on EVERYTHING. have fun with it. best. jody
i get obsessed with ingredients now. thanks jody. now i’ll be using garum with everything too!
you will love it. i promise to include it in the next how2heroes recipe we do. great to see you at the market. xox j
Hi Jody and Ken – I’m so happy to find your new blog! You have been a huge inspiration to me over the years as I searched for a niche in the cooking profession. And thanks for the big, garum-laced bowl of spaghetti…I’m adding it to my must-try pantry list.
Cheers,
Karen
It is so much fun to be connecting with people like you through our blog. The spaghetti has been a big hit with cooks who have tried it and you are going to LOVE the GARUM! best, Jody
Hey you two – What a great looking new blog! I’m so excited to see you out here sharing your passion for terrific home cooked food. I’ve never tried garum but love asian fish sauces, so I’m sure this will become a staple in my kitchen as well. Best of luck in your new venture, can’t wait to see what comes next! – S
Thanks so much. So sorry to miss you last weekend at Lets Talk About Food. It was a great day. Our lives are all about biking right now.
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Great Article ! I have been using Red Boat no# 40 for years now ( Vietnamese) it’s made from the 1st pressing . Quality/Clarity/Color are truly wonderful , I use it in place of anchovies in salad dressings, pasta sauces. Sprinkled on top of Pork Chops its heavenly or Green Mango slices . The Filipino’s make one out of Shrimp too but it’s super hard to find/ expensive to boot. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts/ tastes on garum
Hi, John–Now you’ve got me intrigued. Red Boat #40, it’s on the list. With green mango or green papaya? (I’ll go with either.) Glad you enjoyed the disquisition on garum. Fun stuff. Ken
parmesan cheese on a dish done with colatura? gosh, only you americans could carry out such a distasteful crime… :-(
American sensibility is very pragmatic: if you like it, eat it. We don’t care what some snooty European says is good. This means that if the mood hits us, we’ll pair champagne with beef wellington, and put mayonnaise on caviar. The only thing you accomplish by calling us distasteful is wasting your breath.
Reblogged this on TP Archie's Blog and commented:
to be studied
mmmm
Reblogged this on boofrost and commented:
I have been reading the Marcus Diddius Falco series of books by Lindsey Davis. These are all set in ancient Rome during the first century A.D. The books have inspired me to research many aspects of Roman culture, not the least of which is Roman cuisine. Garum is frequently mentioned and I was pleased to find this fine article about the ancient condiment. I may even try to get my hands on the modern equivalent to further satisfy my curiosity. Thanks to the Garum Factory for a great article which places an ancient food item in modern context.
Mix some dried aneth, anis, fennel seeds, laurel, black pepper and lovage and mix the resulting powder with nuoc mam. Put it then in a pan and heat it up; before it starts to boil, mix some white miso paste in and take it off the heat so as to “dye” the miso.
The result is a pesto-like paste to die for. I read about those herbs being spread on the bottom of garum jars, plus they really sum up the aromatic spectre of ancient roman cuisine.
… I forgot the cilantro ^^
Thanks Jody. Was watching and show on ancient Rome where they discovered this. And it does go back to northern Africa because of a sunami. Yum anything from the sea is good for your soul. Looking forward to trying your recipes. Kosher.❤️