Escabeche with tomatillo salsa

Tamara West

Often confused with ceviche (which is marinated raw fish), in escabeche the raw fish is lightly cooked before being pickled. Preferably use firm white-fleshed fish fillets at least 1cm thick.

Ingredients

4 fillets	White fish, firm, such as gurnard, cod or snapper (Main)
2	Limes, juiced
½ cup	Olive oil
4	Black peppercorns, lightly crushed
2 cloves	Garlic, finely sliced
¼ tsp	Cumin seeds, ground, toasted
¼ tsp	Dried oregano
2	Bay leaves
1	Green chilli, deseeded and chopped
1	Onion, thinly sliced
½ cup	White wine vinegar

Tomatillo Salsa

½ cup	Red capsicums, peeled, seeded, roasted and diced
1 cup	Tomatoes, ripe, or tomatillos, diced (Main)
1 tsp	Chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
½ tsp	Cumin seeds, ground, toasted
1	Lime, juiced
2 Tbsp	Olive oil

Directions

1. Place the fish fillets in a large shallow ceramic dish and pour over the lime juice, turning once to ensure they are completely coated in juice. Cover and leave to marinate for 15 minutes.
2. Drain the fish and pat dry using kitchen paper. Heat 2 Tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan and pan-fry the fillets for 1-2 minutes on each side, depending on thickness. You want them to be only just cooked. Transfer to the shallow dish.
3. Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan. Add the peppercorns, garlic, cumin, oregano, bay leaves and chilli and cook over a low heat for about 2 minutes. Add the onion and vinegar and bring to the boil. Season with salt.
4. Pour pickling mixture over the fish and leave to cool. Cover the dish and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 24 hours.
5. To serve, drain off the liquid and serve with a tomatillo salsa and warm soft tortillas.

Tomatillo Salsa

1. Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate.

Tip: You could also use pickled jalapenos, large green olives, chunks of avocado, or roughly chopped coriander leaves.