Food and Drink

Salad of Red Mullet Escabeche, Spring Onions and Red Pepper

16 December 2013

Escabeche is a traditional method of frying then marinating fish before serving it at room temperature, common throughout Latin America – though like many elements of the region's cuisine it traces its origins back to Spain. In our version, we've given the dish a more contemporary feel by incorporating it into a salad with red onion, spring onions, chilli and red pepper. If you can't find red mullet, sea bream will work equally well.

Prep: 25 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Recipe serves: 4 (as a starter)

Ingredients

2 Boneless, skin-on red mullet fillets
1 Red onion, sliced into thin slivers
3 Spring onions (including stems), finely diced into rounds
1 Red pepper, chopped into rough 2-3cm cubes
Small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
1/2 Red chilli pepper, sliced into very thin strips
2 tbsp Wine vinegar
4 tbsp White wine
1/2 Lemon juice and zest
Pinch of brown sugar
Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan and add the fillets, red pepper, chilli and red onion along with a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper. Cook the fish for a couple of minutes on each side until browned; the pepper and onion should still have some bite.
Empty the contents of the pan into a large dish suitable for marinading along with the raw spring onion and parsley, evenly scattered. Pour the vinegar and wine over the top and leave to marinate in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
Before serving remove the dish from the fridge to allow it to return to room temperature, or gently heat it if you prefer. Add the lemon juice and zest just before plating up.