Escabeche

fried fish or chicken steeped in a cooled marinade of olive oil, vinegar, garlic, paprika, and a generous hand of bay, the Iberian preserving technique in which the laurel leads rather than lurks

Origin: Spain

From the journey of Bay Leaf.

Escabeche is one of the great Iberian techniques, a way of cooking and then preserving fish, game, chicken, or vegetables in a cooled, lightly soured marinade, born in the days before refrigeration when the acid of vinegar kept food sound through the heat. Its roots run back through the medieval Arab kitchen of al-Andalus (the name descends from the Persian sikbaj, a vinegar stew), but it became thoroughly Spanish, and it is the dish in which the bay leaf, so often a background note, steps forward to lead. The food is first browned or fried, then submerged in a warm marinade of olive oil, plenty of wine vinegar, sliced garlic, sweet paprika or peppercorns, and a generous hand of bay leaves, and left to cool and steep, for hours or days, until the flavours marry and the laurel's fragrance has soaked through. Served cool or at room temperature, tangy and aromatic, escabeche is the food of the tapas bar and the summer table, of long keeping and easy abundance, and the bay leaf is one of its defining, leading flavours rather than a hidden one.

Ingredients

The Main

600 g firm fish (such as mackerel, bonito, or trout) or chicken thighs
2 tbsp plain flour, for dusting

The Escabeche

120 ml olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, sliced
4 bay leaves
120 ml white wine vinegar
120 ml white wine (or water)
1 tsp sweet paprika (pimentón dulce)
1 tsp black peppercorns
salt, to taste

Method

Season the fish or chicken and dust lightly with flour. Heat half the olive oil in a pan and fry until golden and just cooked through, then lift into a deep dish in a single layer.
In the same oil, with the rest added, gently fry the onion, carrot, and garlic over a medium-low heat until softened but not browned, about 8 minutes.
Add the bay leaves, paprika, and peppercorns and stir for a few seconds, then pour in the vinegar and wine. Season with salt and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
Pour the warm marinade, with all its vegetables and bay, over the fish or chicken, making sure it is well covered. Cool to room temperature.
Cover and refrigerate for at least a few hours, ideally overnight or up to several days, for the flavours to develop. Bring back to room temperature to serve.

Notes

Escabeche suits oily fish (mackerel, sardines, bonito, tuna), trout, chicken, rabbit, partridge, and even fried vegetables or mushrooms. It is always served cool or at room temperature, never hot, and keeps for several days refrigerated. The dish travelled with Spain across the world, becoming the escabeche of Latin America and the Philippines and a cousin of the Italian 'in saor'.

The Gastrographer

Name: Escabeche
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Spain
Ingredients: 600 g firm fish (such as mackerel, bonito, or trout) or chicken thighs; 2 tbsp plain flour, for dusting; 120 ml olive oil; 1 onion, thinly sliced; 1 carrot, thinly sliced; 6 cloves garlic, sliced; 4 bay leaves; 120 ml white wine vinegar; 120 ml white wine (or water); 1 tsp sweet paprika (pimentón dulce); 1 tsp black peppercorns; salt, to taste

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control