γούνα [ghouna] = fur or fur coat. From Late Latin/Early Italian gunna
One of the problems of looking up a Greek word or expression is that it is like getting lost in YouTube. You want to see an excerpt from your favourite comedy or listen to a song, only for five minutes to turn into three hours. Thus it was with γούνα. How could I end up with a recipe for fish? All will be revealed later.
The expression I was interested in was κάηκε η γούνα μου, literally “my fur [coat] has been burnt”. The closest I got to it was Του καίω τη γούνα translated as “make damaging revelations about someone”. In the same way Έχω ράμματα για τη γούνα του is translated as “have damaging information about someone”. However, a recently bereaved “widow” who was, in fact, a common-law wife uttered, “κάηκε η γούνα μου.” My reliable informant told me that the best translation in this case had nothing to do with slander and damaging revelations. Quite simply the poor woman meant, “I’m fucked” as she had no legal rights or protections.
One additional expression is Του τίναξα τη γούνα, close to the English “I tanned his hide”. But none of this explains how I arrived at fish.
Very early in my search I came across γούνα with the meaning of a fish dish, particularly γούνα Πάρου ie from the island of Paros. Basically, it is any oily fish eg mackerel, cut lengthwise and opened. It is then cleaned, covered in sea salt and wrapped in cheesecloth -another new word, τουλουπάνι. Then it is left for a few hours to dry in the sun. Once thoroughly dry it can be grilled over charcoal. This article also states it can be done in the oven: https://www.argiro.gr/recipe/gouna-parou/