Escabeche not Ceviche

When I was a little girl growing up in Puerto Rico, I used to confuse and often think that ceviche and escabeche were the same things. It may have been that last –che syllable. It may have been the fact that both dishes often included fish…

Back then I had a love/hate relationship with fish. I hated bacalao (salted cod), and I especially hated when they made the whole fish and served it with its tiny mouth half open, its tiny little teeth still slightly menacing and the dead eye staring at you from the big platter.

I used to eat the eyes because I thought it was funny, and it grossed out my grandmother -- but what I really hated was the other stuff on the platter (and that usually meant a variety of over boiled vegetables that had been overcooked together and both smelled and tasted exactly the same: overcooked).

I grew to hate the poor fish too. It smelled, it was too fishy...

My antipathy for the dish grew as my grandfather and I emotionally distanced from each other. I lost my stomach for his favorite dish just as he became ever more disappointing a parent and human being.

I outgrew my culinary prejudices eventually. I also learned the difference between one dish and the other.

Ceviche is all the rage now that Anglos have “discovered” it. The dish originates from Peru, is popular in coastal regions in Latin American and the Caribbean (passed along each colony by Spaniards). It consists of marinating raw fish in a citrus juice base and spicy heat of chilis and letting it “cook” in the juices. It requires fresh fish, and it is generally made shortly before it is served. It is served cold or at room temperature.

Escabeche is another thing altogether, and a lot more fun because it is a flexible recipe. It originated in Spain under the influence of the Moops (it’s a Seinfeld reference, live with it!).

When I was a kid it generally meant fish, chicken, or sliced tiny green bananas that were served cold from a giant jar in which they pickled in a delicious sauce. This was served over white rice or alongside vegetables, usually boiled tubers and pumpkin.

The short version is simply this: you start with poached or fried fish, and marinade overnight in an acidic base (oil and vinegar usually, some use watered-down and spiced vinegar), onions, peppers and herbs.

In Puerto Rico, escabeche is also made with chicken gizzards and green bananas. In Mexico, the sauce is made with chiles (pick your heat level and go wild), and served over rice, in soups, over meats and fish, with tamales…

The result is a savory, tangy sauce with mild sweetness (usually from the onions), and heat (from peppers), and a complex combination of flavors and textures that is both light and yet filling.

To make up for leaving you foodless for three weeks, I will run a few escabeche recipes in this space starting tomorrow, so come back. 

Thanks for sticking with me!

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.

http://www.pinterest.com/kaliamandab/food-goddess-escabeche/