This is one of Spain’s favorite tapas. Its main ingredient, anchovy or “boquerón”, is a small full of flavor fish. Here the complete procedure with all the secrets to succeed with this recipe.
Ingredients:
Fresh or frozen anchovies
Wine vinegar (approx. 300ml for every 1/2 kg of fish)
A few garlic cloves
A small bunch of parsley
Extra virgin olive oil and salt
Although the number of steps may seem scary, the entire procedure is very simple and only requires a little patience. The waiting time is due both to certain previous security measures, and to the subsequent marinating of the fish, but the final result is definitely worth it!
Step 1: Clean the fish
Anchovies can be cleaned without a knife. Simply separate the head with your fingers, and then eviscerate it by continuing to split it in the middle up to the tail. Finally remove the spine by gently pulling it towards the tail.
Step 2: Bleed
Place the fillets in a bowl with cold water and some ice cubes. Reserve in the fridge for at least half an hour and then rinse with plenty of water.
Step 3: Freeze
Any fish that is going to be consumed without cooking must be previously frozen for at least 5 days at -20°. This is an important prophylactic step to prevent eventual infections by anisakis, a parasite that can sometimes be found in sea fish.
Step 4: Defrost
The day before preparation, let the anchovies thaw in the refrigerator. Remember to place them in a large enough bowl or container, since the fish will lose a lot of water.
Step 5: Marinate
Prepare a solution of 300 ml parts of vinegar for every 100 ml of water and reserve. Arrange the anchovies in successive rows in a container (preferably glass, or porcelain, but not plastic). After having finished a first layer, salt slightly, and repeat the procedure with successive layers. Cover all the anchovies with the solution and reserve in the fridge for 8 to 12 hours. The larger the fish, the longer the marinating time. After this process, the anchovies will be firmer and whiter, due to the effect of salt and vinegar.
Step 6: Dress
Discard the vinegar and water and reserve the anchovies. Dice or slice the garlic and chop the parsley. Arrange the anchovies in rows in the glass container, just as in the previous step. Sprinkle a little garlic and parsley over each layer. Repeat the procedure and after finishing with the last row, cover the fish completely with extra virgin olive oil. At this point it would be possible to eat the anchovies, but their flavor will be further improved after all ingredients settle. Therefore, the last indication is to reserve in the fridge for 24 hours.
Step 7: Serve
Finally! Patience deserves its reward. Enjoy the marinated anchovies with a slice of good bread.
Tips and tricks:
- The steps and times are shortened if you have already frozen raw anchovies. This will be almost inevitable for those who do not live in a maritime region. Even more, you can save the extra work of cleaning the fish if you get frozen anchovy fillets.
- If you have leftover oil, you can strain and use it for preparing more anchovies.
- It’s curious that depending on the region of Spain, fresh fish is called anchoa (anchovy) and canned one “boquerón”, or vice versa.
- The other very traditional Spanish tapa made with this fish is the “salted anchovy”. The most famous is the anchovy from Santoña, a fishing village in northern Spain that has made of this preserve a true specialty.
- Many Spanish bars offer a tapa called matrimonio (“marriage”) on their menu, which combines salted anchovies and pickled anchovies.