Sweet and Sour Mackerel

Name: Sweet and Sour Mackerel (Caballa en Escabeche)
Yield: Serves 4. Begin this recipe at least a day in advance.
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 1 red onion, finely sliced; 1 tsp sweet paprika; 8 mackerel fillets; ½ tsp salt; 3 cloves; 8 tbsp olive oil; 12 black peppercorns; 2 tbsp sultanas (golden raisins); 2 tbsp pine kernels (pine nuts) or chopped almonds, toasted; 1 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped; 300 ml/10 fl oz/1¼ cups red wine vinegar; 150 ml/5 fl oz/⅔ cup water; 3 bay leaves; 6 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole; 2 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour

Caballa en Escabeche

Preparation info

Serves
4
. Begin this recipe at least a day in advance.

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Food of Northern Spain

By Jenny Chandler

Published 2005

About

Oily fish tastes glorious after a couple of days in this sweet and sour marinade. Whole fish are often used but for a more elegant starter (appetizer) I prefer to use fillets; they are just so much easier to eat. Try to get your fish supplier to do the filleting for you; it will save a lot of time.

Ingredients

8 mackerel fillets
2 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
½ tsp

Europe
Spain
Asturias
Navarre
Galicia
Fish course
Starter
Pescatarian
Mediterranean
Catalonia

Method

Dust the fish with flour and salt. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan (skillet). Add the fillets, a few at a time, and cook until golden and just cooked through. Arrange the fish in a single layer in a large, flat dish.

Heat the remaining olive oil in a clean pan. Add the onion and fry until it becomes quite soft. Add the garlic and continue cooking until you see the