ADOBO--ANOTHER TANGY MARINADE

Marinated fried fish.

Last week I wrote about escabeche, a tangy marinade used for cooked foods. To follow up on that, here is another popular marinade, adobo.

Adobo is a mixture of spices and vinegar used to marinate fish or meat before cooking. Before the days of refrigeration, both adobo and escabeche were used to conserve foods.

Fish in adobo marinade.

Adobo marinades usually contain wine vinegar, oregano, garlic and pimentón (paprika). Pork and solid-fleshed fish such as shark are good candidates for adobo marinades. The food to be marinated is submerged in the mixture for 24 hours (for fish) to several days (for meat). A whole pork loin in its vinegar marinade would keep for a week or two in cold weather. Then it could be sliced and fried in oil to make a quick and satisfying meal.

Bienmesabe 
Bites of Marinated Fish

This is a popular tapa throughout Andalusia. Bienmesabe means, more or less, “yummies.” The tapa is also called cazón en adobo. Cazón is tope shark or dogfish, which is perked up nicely with a tangy, adobo marinade. Any solid-fleshed fish, such as monkfish (angler fish), could be substituted. I used small pintaroja, (lesser spotted dogfish), cut crosswise into chunks. 

Makes about 45 pieces.

Shake off excess flour.

2 pounds shark or angler fish (monkfish) fillets
3 tablespoons olive oil
5 tablespoons wine vinegar
1 tablespoon water
3 cloves chopped garlic
¼ teaspoon pimentón (paprika)
¼ teaspoon hot pimentón (optional)
1 teaspoon crumbled dry oregano
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
Flour for dredging fish
Olive oil for frying

Cut the fish into 1 ½-inch cubes, discarding any skin and bone. Put the cubes in a non-reactive container.

Mix together the oil, vinegar, water, garlic, pimentón, oregano, pepper and salt. Pour over the fish and mix well. Marinate for at least 6 hours and up 48 hours.

Drain the fish well, dredge it in flour, shake off the excess and fry the pieces a few at a time in hot oil until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen towels and serve hot.

Fish in adobo has tangy flavor.

ESCABECHE--A TANGY MARINADE FOR COOKED FOODS

Quail legs in escabeche marinade make a tasty tapa.

Escabeche is one of my favorite cooking methods. I use it for fish, poultry and game. The procedure, which involves putting cooked food into a vinegar marinade, makes tangy foods that are great for tapas and for salads.

Escabeche is an ancient way of preserving foods. Hunting once was much a part of rural life in every region of Spain. where small game—rabbit, hare, partridge and quail—were free for the taking on scrubby hillsides and in dry ravines. During the season when hunters returned with an abundance, the game would be dressed-out and cooked in a marinade, then packed into clay pots. Olive oil in the marinade would rise to the top and create a protective seal, allowing the escabeche foods to be kept for several months during the cold season. Chunks of marinated meat could be reheated with beans or added, cold, to salads.

Typically, escabeche is made with white wine, vinegar, olive oil, onion, garlic, salt, peppercorns, pimentón or dried chile, cloves and bay leaf. In order to conserve the game, the marinade needed to be very strong in vinegar. Nowadays, with refrigeration, the escabeche is not so sharp.

Escabeche marinade is also used with fish, both fresh water trout, pike and tench, and seafood such as mackerel, sardines and oysters. Fish is gutted, floured and fried until thoroughly cooked. Then hot escabeche marinade is poured over the pieces of fish. Left to marinate for a day or two, the fish acquires a delicious tang. Escabeche fish is usually served as a cold dish, on a bed of lettuce and garnished with lemon and sliced tomatoes.

When  preparing escabeche marinades, use nonreactive pans and bowls—glass or ceramic. Dusting the fish or poultry pieces with flour before frying keeps them from splattering in the hot oil and allows them to brown nicely. If using leftover cooked food (for example, roast turkey), simply add it to the marinade and bring to a boil. It does not need to cook further. Warming escabeche before serving helps to liquefy the jellied marinade. The foods can can be served warm or room temperature. 


ChupaChups de Codorniz en Escabeche
Lollipops of Quail in Escabeche Marinade

ChupaChups is a popular brand of lollipop. Eat these miniscule quail legs right off the bone like a lolly, a two-bite tapa. Leave drumstick and thigh connected if you’re cutting them from whole quail. This recipe can also be prepared using chicken drumettes, the thick, first joint of a chicken wing. 

To serve as finger food, reheat the legs or wings to liquefy the sauce and skim them out of the liquid. If desired, wrap ends in foil, and serve with paper napkins, as they are a bit messy. They can also be used in the following recipe for Salad of Pickled Partridge or Chicken.

Makes 12 tapas.

12 whole quail legs or chicken wings
Flour for dredging
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 leek (white part only), sliced
1 carrot, sliced crosswise
1 slice of onion
1 slice of lemon
2 cloves garlic, slivered lengthwise
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon pimentón (paprika) stirred into 1 tablespoon water
1 small dry red chile (optional)
10 peppercorns
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup water
 ½ cup white wine
½ cup wine vinegar
Salad greens and cherry tomatoes, to serve

Sprinkle the quail legs with salt and pepper. Dredge them in flour and shake off excess. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet on medium heat. Brown the quail on both sides, about 2 minutes. Remove. Wipe out the pan.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan with the leek, carrot, onion, lemon, garlic, bay leaf, pimentón, chile, if using; peppercorns, oregano, salt, water, wine and vinegar. Bring to a boil. Return the quail to the pan. Cover and simmer until quail is tender, but not falling off the bone, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the quail to cool in the marinade.

Cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours or up to 48 hours. Serve cold or room temperature, garnished with salad leaves and tomatoes.

Salad of chicken wing escabeche.

Ensalada con Escabeche
Escabeche Salad

Partridge in spiced escabeche is an emblematic dish of La Mancha (central Spain). If you find canned pickled partridge at gourmet shops, serve it in this delectable salad. The salad is almost as good made with chicken wings in escabeche. Strip the meat from the bones, discarding most of the skin too. You’ll need the meat from about 8 wings (16 wing pieces) to serve 4. Use some of the carrots from the marinade in the salad too. The salad can be garnished with pickled mushrooms and onions. Or, omit the pickles and scatter pomegranate seeds over the salad.

Serves 4.

4 cups mixed salad greens
3 cups boned partridge or chicken wings in escabeche plus pickling liquid
8 hard-cooked quail eggs, halved, or 4 hard-cooked eggs, quartered
Cherry tomatoes or sliced plum tomatoes
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chopped scallions
Pickled mushrooms, optional
Pickled onions, optional
Olives or capers
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Divide the salad greens between 4 salad plates. Divide the boned partridge or chicken between the plates. If there are carrot pieces in the escabeche, scatter them around the partridge or chicken.

Garnish the partridge with hard-cooked eggs, tomatoes, oregano, scallions, pickled mushrooms and onions, if using, olives or capers.

If escabeche liquid is jellied, heat it briefly in microwave or in a saucepan to liquefy. Drizzle 2 teaspoons of the pickling liquid over each salad. Dribble 1 teaspoon oil over each. Garnish with chopped parsley.

LIKE LEEKS

Leeks from the garden.

Biding their time through the winter, the leeks in my garden plot are ready for pulling. I’ve used one here and there, usually for adding to chicken or vegetable soup, but now the whole crop is ready to harvest. What to do with several dozen leeks?

Leeks can be used in place of onions, of course. They are milder, sweeter than onions. I especially like them with all things fish—sauteed in olive oil until melted into a thick jam as a bed for roasted salmon; simmered with white wine and scallops or mussels; fried to a frizzle as a garnish for grilled sea bass.

Leeks, trimmed of outer leaves and tops.

I love leeks prepared in that old-fashioned French dish, leeks a la grecque. The leeks simmer in an aromatic mixture of vinegar and olive oil and are left to cool in the broth, to be served atop greens as a salad course.

There’s always vichysoisse, a leek and potato soup. That trail led me to a home-style Basque soup, porrusalda, leek and potato soup, often embellished with salt cod. Lush with leeks, the soup is not pureed as is vichysoisse. Olive oil, not cream, gives it richness. Some cooks add carrots or pumpkin as well as potatoes. I like a sprinkle of hot pimentón (paprika) to punch up the flavor.

Dirt collects between leaves.

Leeks collect dirt between the multi-layered leaves. The best way to clean them is to slice downward from the tops and spread the leaves open under running water. Strip off and discard any leathery outer leaves.

Porrusalda is Basque leek and potato soup with salt cod.

PORRUSALDA
Basque Leek Soup

8 ounces salt cod (optional)
6 to 8 leeks (about 1 ½ pounds after tops are trimmed)
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 carrot, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 ¼ pounds potatoes (russet type)
5 cups water or light chicken stock
Salt and pepper
Hot pimentón (paprika), if desired

If using the cod, put it to soak in water to cover 36 hours before preparing the soup. Cover and refrigerate. Change the water twice daily. Drain and rinse the cod. Cut it into bite-size pieces, discarding any skin and bone.

Split the leeks lengthwise and wash them well. Slice them crosswise (making approximately 5 cups of sliced leeks).

Heat the oil in a cazuela or soup pot. Add the sliced leeks, carrot and garlic. Sauté 3 minutes.

Peel and cut the potatoes into bite-sized chunks. Add potatoes to the cazuela with water or stock to cover. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer and add the pieces of cod. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper. Simmer another 15 minutes until potatoes and leeks are tender. Sprinkle with hot pimentón before serving.

Leek and potato soup.

Here’s a tip I learned from a television chef: use the outer leaves of a leek to wrap up a bouquet garni with carrot, celery, parsley and thyme.