Fish in Escabeche

Fish escabeche was a dish that was made year-round, but it especially made the rounds around Lent because my grandmother held quite steadfast to no-meat Fridays.

The dish has its charms and it is very refreshing in warmer weather – especially because you can cut the cooking time to less than 10 minutes (if you choose to marinade in extra virgin olive oil and vinegar sauce without slow cooking the sauce). Preparation is not excessive either.

Last night I gave you options on how to prepare the basic escabeche sauce. Tonight I am going to give you a few other suggestions, because I believe that the beauty of kitchen alchemy is finding a way that speaks to you so that you can make gastronomic art and lets you express yourself through your cooking. Yes, indeed.

There are some fish options I want you to consider when you try this dish.

Red Snapper

Chillo, aka red snapper, is quite possibly my favorite fish. Snapper appropriates seasoning and its meat is firm has a mild but lovely flavor.

Start with 1 ½ – 2 lbs of fillets, season with salt and pepper and a dash of lemon, dredge with cornstarch and sear in olive oil until fish is golden brown.

You have the choice of seasoning the oil by sauteing garlic and onions before adding the fish to the pan. Depending on how crunchy you prefer your peppers, you may saute or not julienned slivers of red and yellow peppers.

You can leave the fillets intact and top with the escabeche sauce, and serve over rice or pasta.

Let the fish marinade overnight and serve cold or at room temperature the next day. The cornstarch will create a crunchy crust that will absorb some of the marinade.

Tilapia

Tilapia is milder and flakier than snapper (also less expensive). You can start with about 1 ½ lbs of fish and dredge in seasoned flour (garlic salt, pepper, maybe some oregano). Saute in medium high flame with 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil until golden brown. Remove from heat and flake it using the back of a fork.

You can serve the flaked tilapia and escabeche sauce over baked potatoes, microwaved sweet potatoes, or boiled yucca.

Salt Cod

Bacalao was probably the first fish I tasted, and it is staple in Puerto Rican cooking as well as Spanish cuisine. Here preparation requires that you place the salted fillets in water for at least 24 hour to desalt it or you can boil it for some 10 minutes to remove the salt off it.

If you boil, you will flesh it out into flakes. If you let it sit in cold water (refrigerated), you can cut it into cubes.

The flakes can go into the sauce without any additional preparation. The cubes get dredged in flour (no additional salt needed), and flash fried until golden brown. Then you place in the glass or porcelain container and alternate sauce and fish.

Other fish you may consider includes haddock, tuna, mahi mahi, and swordfish. You may use any white fish, but you can grill or slow poach shrimp and add it to the mixture overnight and use it as a topping to a leafy salad. If you prefer a smokier finish, grill red onions and top the shrimp with it.

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.