Woodfired escabeche has to be one of our favourite fish dishes and perfect for lunch; the pinky-orange red mullet skin we use here looks fantastic with zingy orange zest, bright green fresh parsley and black olives. The citrussy orange juice and acidic sherry vinegar cut through the rich fish flesh and will transport you to a sunny Mediterranean hotspot even if it’s not so sunny at home. 

We’ve also used the same recipe for mackerel, tuna and seabass both in Spain, where the dish originates, and here in Devon. The dish is served at room temperature so it’s perfect if you’re pushed for time as you can get it done in advance or if the temperatures are soaring and you’d rather not cook in the high heat of the summer sun. Served with a chilled rosé wine; it’s fantastic with just a green salad and some good bread.

Ingredients

Serves 4

4 medium red mullet, cleaned and filleted

3 tbsp rice flour mixed with 1 tsp ground cumin and 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika

4 tbsp olive oil

1 red onion, peeled and very thinly sliced

Juice of 2 oranges (take the zest off the orange first in long strips with a parer if you’ve got one or a sharp knife)

1 tbsp pitted black olives, roughly chopped

1 tbsp sherry vinegar

1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted

1 tbsp pitted black olives, roughly chopped

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Salt and pepper

RECOMMENDED HEAT

Heat your oven so you have a good bed of embers with a small fire burning and the base of the oven is about 275°C.

Method

1. Rub the fish fillets with half the olive oil and then dust them with the rice flour/cumin/smoked paprika mixture. Season well with salt and pepper and drizzle over half the oil. 

2. Heat up a frying pan in the oven and when it’s hot add the fillets skin side up. Cook until they are just firm and not quite cooked through. Take the fillets out of the pan with a palette knife or fish slice and put them on a serving platter, skin side up to show the pinky/golden skin. As the heat in the oven comes at the fish from all sides, you shouldn’t have to flip the fillets over as they’ll cook through as they are.

3. Mix the thinly sliced red onion with the rest of the oil and put it in the oven in the same pan you cooked the fish in. Cook to wilt it for about 30 seconds.

4. Add the sherry vinegar and orange juice to the onion and cook for another 45-60 seconds, stirring it round with a wooden spoon now and then and reducing the liquid by half. You want to keep the onion pinky-red though so don’t cook it so long that it turns brown. Season with a little salt and pepper. 

5. Spoon the onion mixture over the cooked red mullet fillets and let it cool. Scatter the olives and parsley over the top and garnish with thin strips of orange zest.

6. Serve with a green salad and some great bread.

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