Basic Escabeche Sauce

The basic escabeche sauce that I learned to cook is very easy to make. This is the version from Carmen Aboy Valldejuli's Puerto Rican Cookery (a staple cookbook in our house). I usually use a small saucepan or, if you have a small/mid-sized Dutch oven, that would work too.

Your ingredients are as follows:

2 cups of olive oil

1 cup of vinegar

12 whole black peppercorns (or more)

½ teaspoon of salt

2 bay leaves

1 ½ pounds of onions, peeled and sliced*

*onions vary in sizes so this will be approximately 4-5 medium sized yellow or white onions, or about 3 cups of slices. I usually do a thin slice, about an eighth of an inch.

Add all the ingredients to the pot, and cook over a low heat for one hour.

Let it cool and add enough to cover the bottom of a deep, glass or porcelain dish. You may use it as is, or add fish, chiles, chicken, or vegetables to it – alternating sauce and the added (cooked) ingredient.

Over the years, we have tweaked the recipe and instead of regular table salt, we have played with Kosher and sea salts. You can also lower the salt and add pimento stuffed salad olives, or little capers. We've added sliced garlic. More pepper! We've also added peppers, and chiles, and paprika.

It begins and ends with the dynamic duo that is oil and vinegar: that is the balance you need to protect to make this sauce work for you. Too oily will be repugnant, and too vinegary will be inedible.

I have also sauteed the garlic and bay leaf in olive oil, over medium-high heat, remove from heat and add the other ingredients (and you can use extra virgin olive oil as well as any variety of vinegar you wish). It's just as tasty, and it retains a playful tanginess without the effort.

If you want to get fancy, you can use shallots.

It is important that you use glass or porcelain because it's a non-reactive surface. Plastics will absorb the smell and taste – and some people find that bothersome. My grandmother had a big glass jar she used for this purpose, but I have not seen one of those since I was a kid.

Whatever you choose to put in the escabeche needs to be cooked separately and marinaded in the sauce overnight, then served cold or at room temperature.

Also, if you are not afraid of such things, you can sop up with bread and it goes well with a good, dry white wine or beer.

Tomorrow, I'll tell you about fish and veggie variations. 

UPDATE: If you enjoyed this article and the recipes in it, you can link to its companion piece, a dedicated Pinterest board you can refer to any time.