Boquerones en Vinagre (Marinated Anchovies)
Bright, briny, and deeply Mediterranean, Boquerones en Vinagre are a must-try Spanish tapa. If cleaning yourself, commit to about an hour, especially if you're new at it. If using fresh anchovies you'll want to start the process 7 to 8 days before you're planning to serve them, as you'll want to freeze the fresh anchovies for 7 days once they've been cleaned. If starting with frozen anchovies you can skip this step. These marinated anchovies are pickled until tender and finished with garlic, parsley, and fruity olive oil.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh anchovies (454g), cleaned, bones removed, butterflied, and frozen for 7 days (see notes)
- 1 1/4 cups white wine vinegar (300ml)
- 1/2 cup cold water (120ml)
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- Flaky sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- Defrost the anchovies. Remove the anchovies from the freezer and let them defrost in the fridge the night before or a few hours before you're ready to pickle them.
- Pickle the anchovies. Mix the vinegar and water in a measuring cup. Place the anchovies into a glass or ceramic tray and pour in the vinegar mixture, ensuring they are completely submerged. Cover and let them pickle in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours. The time will depend on the size of the anchovies and your taste preferences. The longer they pickle, the firmer they become, and the vinegar flavor becomes stronger.
- Marinate the anchovies. Remove the anchovies from the fridge, drain the vinegar, and rinse them a few times under cold water to stop the pickling process. Pat the fish dry. Return the anchovies to the cleaned-out tray. Whisk together the minced garlic, parsley, and olive oil in a small bowl. Pour the olive oil mixture over the anchovies. Serve them right away, or let them marinate in the oil in the refrigerator for an hour first.
- Finish, serve, and store. When ready to serve, sprinkle the anchovies with flaky sea salt. Eat them as a pincho (small tapa on a toothpick), or serve them on some pan con tomate. Submerged in olive oil and covered tightly, marinated anchovies will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator. You may need to pour extra olive oil over the anchovies to submerge them.
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including the olive oil used in this recipe.
- How to Clean Fresh Anchovies:
- Scale and gut. The scales on anchovies are generally too small to notice and the skin is edible. If you do see some large scales, gently scrape them off under cold running water with the spine of a paring knife. To clean an anchovy, hold the anchovy in one hand. With your other hand, pinch the head between your thumb and index finger and pull it down towards the tail, firmly but gently, removing the head and most of the entrails.
-
- Split. Use a finger or a small paring knife to split the filets along the belly and remove the spine, remaining entrails, and tail. If the fins are noticeable you can trim them with a paring knife. You can leave the filets butterflied or split them. I usually leave them butterflied at this point, so I have fewer individual pieces to clean and split them later when I pickle them. Rinse the anchovy filets under cold running water a few times to clean them.
- Soak. Letting the anchovies soak in ice water for an hour further removes blood and any impurities, resulting in cleaner-tasting marinated anchovies with whiter flesh. Fill a large bowl with ice water and add the anchovies. Place the bowl in the fridge and let the anchovies soak for 1 hour. Remove the bowl from the fridge, drain, and rinse the anchovies a few more times under cold water.
- Freeze. Dry the fish well on paper towels. Place the anchovies on a layer of plastic wrap, avoiding overlapping them too much. If you first lay a piece of plastic wrap in between, you can stack a second layer on top. Make sure they’re well wrapped and freeze them until completely solid at -4°F for 7 days.
- Why Freeze Fresh Anchovies? Anchovies and many other fish and shellfish are prone to parasitic infection. Eating raw or undercooked fish can make you sick. When serving raw fish dishes, including this one, the Centers for Disease Control recommends freezing fresh fish until completely solid for 7 days. If you purchase anchovies for this recipe already frozen, you can skip this step.
Nutrition
Calories: 162.1kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.5g | Protein: 9.6g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5.1g | Cholesterol: 21.5mg | Sodium: 4.3mg | Potassium: 152.3mg | Fiber: 0.04g | Sugar: 0.01g | Vitamin A: 127.3IU | Vitamin C: 1.2mg | Calcium: 164.2mg | Iron: 0.7mg
QR code
Scan this QR code with your phone's camera to view this recipe on your mobile device.
