Walleye roe, or hard roe, is the fully matured internal ovary, or egg mass, of breeding-age female fish and develop in the spring. Although the flavor of fish roe is usually considered to be an acquired taste, it is found to be not only palatable but quite delectable by many people.
Walleye eggs can be used as either cooked or raw ingredients in many dishes, but can also be served as caviar. This caviar pie recipe calls for inexpensive fish roe, such as walleye eggs. Although the layered spread or dip is a bit time-consuming, it isn't difficult to prepare and the resulting delicacy will be worthy of your finest occasion.
Instructions
1. Make a small slit in the membrane surrounding the roe sac and empty the walleye eggs into a colander in the sink. Rinse the eggs thoroughly and set them aside to drain well.
2. Drizzle 2 tbsp. of lemon juice over the walleye eggs in the colander. Toss them to flavor all of the eggs slightly with lemon juice. You now have walleye caviar. Drain again, then put the caviar into an airtight plastic container and refrigerate it immediately.
3. Spoon ½ cup of mayonnaise into a mixing bowl and fold in the chopped hard-boiled eggs. The mixture will be very thick. If it's too dry to be spreadable, just add a little more mayonnaise. Set this aside.
4. Beat the sour cream and cream cheese together in a separate bowl until very smooth.
5. Lightly grease the springform pan with butter or margarine. Spread the egg and mayonnaise mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the minced scallions over it. Use a spoon to drop dollops of the sour cream mixture on top, and spread it gently and evenly over the layer of scallions. You may need to dip the spoon in water if the sour cream mixture is too sticky to spread easily.
6. Cover the dip tightly with aluminum foil and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
7. Remove the dip and the container of walleye caviar from the refrigerator just before you're ready to serve the dip. Spread the walleye eggs evenly over the top, and garnish with chopped chives or parsley, if desired.
Tags: evenly over, sour cream, cream mixture, lemon juice, sour cream mixture
