|
|
|
|
|
Spanish Food - How To Prepare Boquerones
Whilst on your travels in Spain and pausing to take a breath from site-seeing, you have surely experimented with "tapas" at a welcoming bar. If this is the case, it is more than likely that you have come across the small, tasty filleted fish, preserved in olive oil, sliced garlic and chopped parsley, and highly popular throughout Spain. This delectable dish is usually known as "boquerones" but, depending on the area, can also be called "anchoas". Boquerones are small, fresh anchovies. Accompanied by crisp, fresh Spanish bread, a glass of ruby-red wine or refreshing Asturian cider, they are a delight to eat. Moreover - as with many traditional Spanish dishes which comprise the renowned Mediterranean Diet - they are extremely healthy. Like its friend the sardine, the anchovy is an oily fish, packed full of proteins and minerals, protecting against heart disease, and "good" for cholesterol. What´s more, in many areas of Spain - in particular the Mediterranean coast - fresh anchovies are extremely cheap. On first coming to Spain, I happily enjoyed many tapas of boquerones, completely unaware of one fact ... all those little anchovies I had eaten were not cooked! For a moment, I deeply regretted asking my Spanish neighbor, Carmen, how to make them! Fortunately, Carmen went into immediate action and saved the day! She frog-marched me to the local fishmongers, bought a kilo of the little fish, took me home and showed me "her way" of preparing them. They were so delicious that I quickly recovered my passion for boquerones and have been enjoying them ever since! Methods for preparing boquerones tend to vary slightly from family to family. However, the basic principles are always the same. You first have to clean and fillet the fish, which is simple enough, but rather tedious until you get the hang of it. Next, you soak the fillets, either in white wine vinegar or a mixture of half vinegar and half water. The vinegar will clean and bleach the fish and also soften any remaining little bones. Some people sprinkle the fish with salt; others (myself included) feel that the fish is salty enough already. The fish has to be left for a good few hours soaking in the vinegar. Again, this tends to vary, with some Spaniards leaving them overnight in the fridge and others just waiting a couple of hours. Also, some families change the vinegar/water-and-vinegar mixture once during this process, whilst others don´t bother. Once you have thrown away the vinegar, the bleached fillets are covered with a good quality virgin olive oil, which will preserve them. You can add as much, or as little, sliced garlic as you wish, plus freshly chopped parsley. So ... here is the actual recipe. BOQUERONES Ingrediants: Method: 1. Top and tail anchovies. 2. Slit along underside and discard innards. 3. Open out fish. 4. Remove central bone by lifting from tail end upwards. 5. Rinse well. 6. Place a layer of anchovy fillets in a shallow dish. 7. Sprinkle with salt (optional) and pour on plenty of vinegar. 8. Repeat with another layer, changing direction. 9. Leave to soak in vinegar for a few hours or overnight. 10. Pour off vinegar. 11. Very gently rinse fillets. 12. Cover fillets in virgin olive oil. 13. Add slices of garlic and chopped parsley. It is so pleasant to find something in life that is a delight to the senses, affordable, healthy and does nobody any harm (apologies to any vegetarians out there and, also, the little anchovies ...). So ... do make the most of fresh anchovies whilst you are in Spain and enjoy! Linda Plummer is English and has lived on the Costa Blanca inSpain for 20 years. She is webmistress of the information-rich site: http://www.top-tour-of-spain.com with its FREE monthly newsletter, "The Magic of Spain".
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Cookware: What You Need And What You Don't Cookware is always a rather contentious subject. I have seen chefs turn up to even the simplest of cooking jobs carrying more than it would take to maintain your average oil tanker (though maybe this is not the best use for your cookware), when all that was really needed was a knife and something to sharpen it with. Banana Pudding and Vanilla Wafers... the Perfect Crowd Pleaser! Next time someone signs you up for "dessert duty" at the family barbecue, cookout, picnic or whatever other type of party you may attend this summer, consider the old pudding-and-cookies recipe. It's a gooey dessert that really wows the crowd. Vegetarian Gourmet----Meatless Makeovers Three years ago I decided to go "meatless." It wasn't a difficult decision as I wasn't a voracious carnivore to begin with, however there were a few dishes that I missed that contained meat and wondered how I was going to live without these favorites. Basic Quick Mix and Recipes With an easy basic quick mix, you can make a wide variety of inexpensive homemade biscuits, breads, and other baked goods. This mix is easy to make and store and great for any family on a tight budget. Fish Recipes These recipes are wonderful and they are old family recpies. Armenian Baked Fish3 lbs. How to Make Your Own Low Fat Vanilla Ice Cream Sometimes, when you have set yourself in the weight loss journey, you may miss your old friends: snacks.But life does not have to be miserable for you to lose weight. Weight Loss Recipe: Whole Fish In Ginger Sauce Lean protein is your diet is essential to weight loss and weight maintenance. Fish is an excellent source of lean protein as it is lower in fat that red meats. Spanish Recipes - Tempting Tapas Dishes Spain is famous for its tapas and, whichever Spanish bar youfrequent, in whichever area of the country, you are sure tofind them.So, what exactly are "tapas" and where did the name come from?Tapas are, essentially, snacks and the word literally means"cover". Handy Home-Prepared Mixes Pre-packaged store-bought box mixes are expensive. Have you considered homemade alternatives? Made-from-scratch mixes are healthy, cost beneficial, store well, and taste great. Making Whoopie! Whoopie Pies that is! Other known as "Moon Cakes"Wicked WhoopiesAmy who loves to bake would have never thought to earn a living baking whoopie pies?! It sounds crazy now, she says because no one else has done such a thing. She loves to bake (even now, four million whoopie pies later. New York Style Cheesecake Recipe New York style cheesecake recipes are made with a combination of cream cheese and Italian cheese cakes made with ricotta cheese. In the early 1920's, this particular silky style of cream cheese was developed in the New York area. How to Make Gooey Grits Cake I was intrigued when I came across this unusual dessert recipe. Now, ordinarily, I wouldn't think that a dessert containing grits, of all things, would be appealing. Weight Loss Recipe: Apricot Chicken Just because you are watching your weight, doesn't mean the whole family can't enjoy your health enhancing meals! The kids will love "Apricot Chicken" and you will love it because it is so low in calories and fat!Long term weight loss isn't about hunger, misery and crash dieting. It's a whole new way of learning to prepare nutritious food that your body needs and enjoys. Low Carb Christmas Enchiladas! FELIZ NAVIDAD.. Whats So Great About Slow Cooking Anyway? As I walked through the grocery store aisles a few weeks ago, I noticed the increase in prepackaged slow cooker meals. I've been using my slow cooker and reaping the rewards for years, so it was no real surprise to me when others started proclaiming the benefits of cooking with a crock pot. Asparagus Quiche ½ lb. Asparagus spears (top part of asparagus with the floret) 2 shallots 4 eggs ¼ cup Milk Salt Pepper ½ cup Ementaller Ready made pie crusts or use our Pate Brise recipe. Fun & Fruity Recipes Sometimes the easiest way to get children to eat healthy is to let them have a hand in making their own snacks?and add whipped cream on top. Here are two fruity recipes that are fun and easy to make, and even more fun to eat. Thai BBQ or Barbeque Chicken Recipes What makes Thai BBQ chicken recipes so delicious? It is all the wonderful and unique spices and ingredients that are used to deliver a flavor that are taste buds enjoy. These recipes are wonderful and give us a new view of how we look at barbeque sauces. How to Make Kaiser Rolls Want to impress your family and friends at the next gathering? Serve sandwiches on Kaiser Rolls. They'll look so professional--like they came from the bakery. Ground Turkey Recipes Our family has recently made the switch from ground beef toground turkey. With ground beef more than $2 a pound, we hadbasically quit eating hamburger for quite some time.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
