Escabeche
Cooking and then storing food, usually fish or game birds, in a warm vinegar-based marinade with oil, bay, peppercorns and garlic.
Escabeche is a preservation technique that doubles as a flavour. You poach or fry the protein (most often oily fish like mackerel, sardines or partridge), then submerge it warm into a marinade of olive oil, vinegar, wine, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns and sometimes paprika. The acid sets the texture, lifts the fat and lets the dish keep in the fridge for days. Most escabeches are eaten cold or at room temperature, often a day or two after cooking, once the flavours have settled in.
How it's served
Cold or room-temperature, with toasted bread, as a starter or part of a tapas spread. Many restaurants make escabeche of partridge, quail, mackerel or mussels and serve it from a glass jar at the bar.
Regional variation
Andalusia leans hard on fish escabeches; Castile-La Mancha uses the technique for game birds and rabbit. The Latin American escabeche (especially in Peru and the Philippines) inherits the name from Spanish colonisation but adds chilli and a sweeter profile.
- Origin
- Iberian Peninsula (Andalusian / Mediterranean roots)
- Etymology
- From the Arabic sikbāj, a medieval Persian vinegar stew, by way of Andalusi cooking.
Where to try it in Barcelona
One restaurant on Guidavera mentions escabeche in their kitchen description.
Frequently asked
What is escabeche?
A Spanish preservation method where fish, game or vegetables get cooked and then stored in a warm marinade of olive oil, vinegar, garlic, bay and peppercorns. The acid extends shelf life and infuses the food. Eaten cold or at room temperature, often a day or two after cooking.
Is escabeche raw or cooked?
Cooked first, then marinated. The fish or bird is poached, fried or roasted before going into the vinegar mix. That separates escabeche from ceviche (which is acid-cooked raw) and from a simple pickle.
What's typically served as escabeche?
Oily fish (mackerel, sardines, tuna belly), game birds (partridge, quail), mussels and rabbit. Vegetable escabeches of carrots, onions or aubergine are also common as tapas-bar fixtures, often kept in jars on the counter.