Boquerones en vinagre is a Spanish dish of raw anchovies marinated in vinegar for several days, then served with a sauce made with olive oil, garlic, and parsley. Freezing the fish is necessary to kill harmful parasites. The dish can be presented in various ways, including on toasted bread or in a boat-like container with olive oil.
Boquerones en vinagre is the name of a Spanish dish which literally translates to “anchovies marinated in vinegar”. It is simple to prepare and very popular when served as tapas, a kind of snack or starter. The dish involves marinating fresh, raw anchovies in vinegar – sometimes for several days – and then serving them with a sauce made with olive oil, garlic and parsley. While fish aren’t cooked with heat, the acidity of the vinegar causes a kind of chemical cooking that shrinks the texture of the meat and changes its color so it appears cooked. When boquerones en vinagre are eaten as a tapas, the anchovies can be eaten on their own or they can be served on toasted pieces of bread or crackers.
How the anchovies used in boquerones en vinagre are cleaned can greatly affect the final presentation. For a more rustic look, anchovies can have their heads removed, along with their innards and spine, leaving the skin and tails on each. A more refined look can be achieved by actually filleting the small raw fish so that the only part left is the inner flesh. They can also be gutted, have the head and tail removed and then cut down the middle to make two halves.
An important aspect of using raw anchovies and many other raw fish is the presence of a nematode known as anisakis, which can be harmful if eaten and potentially cause a severe allergic reaction. To kill the parasite, the fish must be frozen for a few hours; simple refrigeration won’t kill it. It may be easiest to freeze fish right after they’ve been cut and cleaned, although they can also be frozen after the dish is prepared.
The most common way to assemble boquerones en vinagre is to place cleaned, raw anchovies in a mixture of vinegar, salt, and water. Some recipes call for anchovies to be marinated for only a few hours, while traditional Spanish recipes leave them marinated for a few days. The two types of vinegar most used in the dish are sherry vinegar and white wine vinegar.
Once the fish have finished marinating and have changed color to look paler and more cooked, they are removed from the vinegar and placed in another dish. Olive oil is poured over them, sometimes just a little to coat and other times enough to dip the fish. The minced garlic and parsley are sprinkled on the oil and the boquerones en vinagre are ready to be served.
Some presentations of boquerones en vinagre are very simple, arranging the fish individually on a plate with oil on top. As tapas, they are often seen in a small boat-like container filled with a fair amount of olive oil. A more unique serving method is fish rolled into a tight cylinder, almost like sushi, which is served upright on its side and drizzled with olive oil.
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