The best time to fish bonito is spring and summer, when it rises to the surface from the depths where it lives the rest of the year in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. It has a blue back and a silvery belly with dark stripes, and in the Mediterranean it can reach 10 kg. Bonito belongs to the tuna family, so you can use the same preparations for both fish: stewed, with onions, fried, with tomato, with cider, with rice, with paprika, dried… and, as here, bonito en escabeche (marinated bonito):
Ingredients
- 1 kg bonito, cut into steaks
- 1 onion
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 4 garlic cloves
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 300 ml white wine
- 300 ml sherry vinegar
- 1 carrot
- 2 bay leaves
- Parsley
- Salt
Method
Put the bonito in a pan, cover with water and add the parsley and bay leaves. Once it has boiled for a few minutes, take it off the heat, drain and set aside with the bay leaves. Place the bonito in a pot half-filled with olive oil.
Chop the onion, garlic and carrot and soften them in a frying pan with a little olive oil. Season, add the white wine, the sherry vinegar and the paprika and cook for 15 minutes. Pour everything into the pot with the bonito and finish by simmering over a moderate heat for about two minutes.
Your bonito en escabeche is ready to serve, although many people think it tastes even better the next day. It keeps well in the fridge for several days. You can find other recipes from Juan Moreno on our blog.
