Recipe: Salmon in Mango Escabeche

Salmon in Mango Escabeche

Serves 6 as a light meal

Traditional fish escabeche recipes coat the fish lightly in flour, then brown it in oil. That's one way to cook the salmon for this recipe, or you can use poached salmon, but I prefer an easy method that carries its own flavor-punch: Corn-Husk Grilled Mango-Skin Salmon.

Salmon may seem like an odd choice, and indeed it's not really found in the Central American and island nations of Latin America. But oddly enough, Chile excels in farm-raised salmon, a gift originally imported from Scotland. And escabeche dishes, using a Spanish technique to preserve cooked fish and poultry, can be widely found throughout Latin America. In this recipe, the salmon and mango team up to make a winning combination for serving on thinly shredded, crisp cabbage or lettuce.

By the way, the escabeche marinade makes an excellent Mango Vinaigrette by itself.

Ingredients and steps:

1 pound cooked salmon (such as Corn-Husk Grilled Mango-Skin Salmon)

4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped ripe, sweet mango
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, or to taste
1 or 2 seeded minced serrano or jalapeño chiles
1 medium red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced

To make the recipe for Salmon in Mango Escabeche:

Make the Escabeche: Using the chopping attachment and workbowl of a handblender or a mini-chopper, chop the garlic. Add the oils, vinegar, lime juice, mango and salt and purée until the mixture is smooth and emulsified. Stir in the pepper and chiles. (NOTE: You can also use this mixture as a basic Mango Vinaigrette.)

Prepare the Salmon: In a glass baking dish or other nonreactive container, place the cooked salmon, broken into large chunks. Add the red onion and red bell pepper.

Gently mix the ingredients together until well coated (you can use a spoon, but hands work best to prevent the salmon from breaking up). Cover the dish and refrigerate. The escabeche is ready to eat in about 6 hours, or you can keep it up to overnight and serve (the flavors become less pronounced as it ages; I prefer it after it's rested for 6 to 8 hours). Stir the ingredients occasionally, preferably every couple of hours at first, then a few times thereafter and just before serving.

To serve, arrange plates or a platter with thinly sliced cabbage, and radishes or jicama, or mixed greens. Spoon the salmon and vegetable mixture on top. Serve with crusty bread, corn bread or crackers.

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