Small-fish escabeche

Name: Small-fish escabeche
Ingredients: 1 kg whole small fish; 2 lemons (approximately 100 ml juice); 2 cloves of garlic; 2 teaspoons of salt; 1 teaspoon of white pepper; 100 g flour; 500 ml oil for frying; 3 large onions (600 g); 1 green bell pepper (150 g); 200 ml olive oil; 2 bay leaves; 2 hot peppers; 200 ml white wine

Appetizers - Small-fish escabeche by Teodora O. - Recipia

Small-fish escabeche starts with little fish marinated in lemon before they hit the pan. It’s a cold starter of fried fish, onion and pepper, left to cool in a wine sauce that seeps between the layers. I choose fish of a similar size so they brown evenly in the pan. Prep: 25 minutes. Cook: 50 minutes. Rest: 2-3 days and 4 hours. Total time: 2 days and 5 hours 15 minutes to 3 days and 5 hours 15 minutes. Serves: 6. Approximately 520 kcal and 29 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

1 kg whole small fish
2 lemons (approximately 100 ml juice)
2 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of white pepper
100 g flour
500 ml oil for frying
3 large onions (600 g)
1 green bell pepper (150 g)
200 ml olive oil
2 bay leaves
2 hot peppers
200 ml white wine

Preparation

1. Clean the little fish and pat them dry with paper towels. Mix the juice from the 2 lemons with the minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper. Put the fish in the marinade, cover the dish and refrigerate for 2-3 days. 2. Take the fish out of the marinade and let them drain. Coat them in flour and fry in batches in 500 ml of oil heated to 175°C, about 20 minutes in total, until golden. Set them on paper towels, then transfer to a dish. 3. Thinly slice the onions and cut the pepper into thin strips. In a pan, cook them covered in 150 ml of olive oil for about 20 minutes, until very soft but not browned. 4. Add the bay leaves, hot peppers, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper. Pour in the wine and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes, until reduced. If the vegetables look too dry, stir in up to 50 ml of the remaining olive oil. 5. Pour the sauce over the fish. Gently move the dish so the sauce gets between the layers, then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Serve cold.

Notes

I serve them with white bread, good for mopping up the sauce left on the plate. Keep the dish covered in the fridge; it will keep for up to 3 days. Fish of a similar size cook more evenly; very small ones can dry out before the thicker ones have browned. After cleaning, pat them dry if they’re still wet, since flour clumps on a damp surface. Lemons vary a lot in how juicy they are, so measure the juice and save any extra for another use. I make it the night before serving, and for a larger batch I use two shallow dishes so the sauce spreads between the fish. Sometimes the onions start to brown before they soften; keep the pan covered and turn down the heat. For a gluten-free version, replace the wheat flour with 100 g of rice flour; wheat flour contains gluten.