Boquerones Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Shallot oil: In a small baking pan place whole shallots and add all olive oil. Roast in oven for 15 minutes. Remove shallots from oil, peel and julienne them. Reserve 3/4 cup shallots and 1/2 cup oil. In a food processor, combine vinegar, beet juice and roasted shallots. With a steady stream, add 1/2 cup roasted shallot oil then add salt and pepper to taste and set dressing aside. In a mixing bowl combine boquerones, carrots, peppers and scallions. Arrange the asparagus on a serving platter then place the boquerones mixture on top and pour 3 ounces of the dressing around the plate and on top of the salad.;

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and cook pasta until al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs, and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels, and wipe out pan.
• Heat 3 tablespoons oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add peppers and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and saute, stirring frequently, until peppers begin to soften, about 10 minutes, adjusting heat if they begin to brown. Transfer peppers to a plate, and add remaining oil to pan. Add garlic, and cook, stirring, until fragrant and lightly golden, about 2 minutes. Return peppers to pan, and add reserved pasta water; stir in capers. Toss well with pasta and parsley in a serving bowl. Add boquerones, and gently toss to combine. Season with pepper and, if necessary, salt. Top with breadcrumbs.

Steps:

• Clean the anchovies/boquerones under water. Get rid of the heads and open the clean anchovies/boquerones as if they were books. Get rid of the insides of the fish and after rinsing them, place them in in a deep tray.
• Once you have the tray covered with "open book" fish, sprinkle some sea salt and cover them with the white vinegar.
• Put them in the fridge for a minimum of 12 hours. I usually let them sometime between 12 to 18 hours.
• Once the macerating is done, cut a couple of cloves of garlic in really thin slices (it depends a lot on how much fish you have and how much you like garlic). Put aside.
• Chop parsley in really small pieces.
• Get each fish out of the tray where they have been macerating. Arrange them nicely in another tray.
• Once they are arranged sprinkle the cut garlic and the parsley over the fish.
• Cover with good Spanish virgin olive oil.
• Enjoy with white wine and Italian bread or a baguette.
• The prep time varies depending on your fish cleaning and cutting skill.

Steps:

• Preheat broiler.
• Broil bell peppers on a broiler pan about 5 inches from heat, turning occasionally with tongs, until skins are blackened, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, then let steam 20 minutes.
• When peppers are cool enough to handle, peel them, reserving all juices in bowl, and discard stems and seeds. Cut peppers lengthwise into 1/4-inch-wide strips. Pour pepper juices through a sieve into another bowl, then add vinegar and sugar to juices, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then stir in peppers. Marinate peppers at room temperature, stirring occasionally, at least 2 hours.
• Spoon peppers and juices into a shallow bowl and arrange anchovy strips decoratively on top.

Steps:

• To fillet the anchovies, grasp the body just behind the head and pull down on the head; most of the innards will come out along with it. Run your thumb along the belly flap, tearing the fish open all the way to the tail and removing any remaining innards. Then grab the backbone between your thumb and forefinger and gently pull it out. Remove any spiny fin material and drop the fillet into a bowl of ice water.
• Rinse and dry the anchovies, then place them in a narrow bowl. Add the vinegar and a large pinch of salt and stir. Cover and marinate for about 24 hours. Drain, then sprinkle with salt, oil, garlic if you like, and parsley. You can refrigerate them at this point for up to a few days. Serve with lemon wedges.