Escabeche

We have recently been doing our escabeche. Escabeche is an old way of preserving meat and fish using oil and vinegar. According  to some, it came to Spain with the Arabs. You can preserve chicken, rabbit, and many fatty fish (herring, mackerel, sardines) and shellfish.

Meat Escabeche
Ingredients:
1 kg chicken (chicken breast, or full chicken cut in 8)
5 dl olive oil
3 to 5 dl red wine vinegar
3 to 6 garlic cloves
2 to 3 bay leaves
16 to 20 black peppercorn bays
2 cloves
1 handful each each rosemary and thyme (to taste)
salt and water, as needed

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan. When hot, salt and brown the chicken on all sides.
2. Transfer the chicken into a ceramic or Pyrex or terracotta casserole (never metallic). Fry the rest ingredients in the pan  for a few minutes.
3. Pour oil and spices in the pot, over the chicken, add the vinegar and water as needed to cover the chicken. Put the pot on the fire and bring to boil. When it starts boiling cover, lower the fire so as to keep it simmering slowly. Simmer for one hour and a half. The chicken is made when it separates into pieces when stirring with a wooden spoon. [The escabeche admits sage and various vegetables: carrot, leek and onion, which have septic properties.]
4. Let cool, pass the chicken into a container (tuperware or other), strain the liquid, and cover chicken with the liquid. Keep in the fridge, the escabeche will be made after two days, and will preserver longer.

It is better eaten at room temperature.

To do fish in escabeche, follow the same steps, but simmer for 10 minutes or less (in step 2). For shellfish, steam them to open, take out, and follow the steps without frying.

References: Arzak, Simone Ortega