Escabeche

Ingredients

Broth

• 1.5 kgchicken pieces on the bone, skin on
• 2 litreswater
• 1 tspdried oregano, Mexican if you have it
• 6allspice berries
• 6black peppercorns
• 2bay leaves
• 1 tbspsalt

Onions

• 4large white onions, sliced into thick rings
• 8 clovesgarlic, unpeeled
• 1habanero, left whole
• 120 mlwhite vinegar
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 tspdried oregano
• ½ tspground allspice
• salt

To finish

• corn tortillas, warmed
• lime wedges
• extra habanero, sliced, for those who want it

Directions

1. Put the chicken, water, oregano, allspice, peppercorns, bay and salt in a pot, bring to a bare simmer and cook 40 minutes until the meat pulls from the bone. Skim the grey foam off in the first few minutes; after that leave it alone, because a rolling boil turns the broth cloudy and the meat stringy.
2. Lift the chicken out and let it cool enough to handle. Strain the broth and keep it hot.
3. Char the onion rings, the unpeeled garlic and the whole habanero on a dry comal or heavy pan over high heat, turning, until blackened in patches and just softening — five to eight minutes. This is the step that makes it escabeche rather than onion soup: the char is where the depth comes from.
4. Peel the garlic and crush it. Put the onions, garlic and habanero in a bowl with the vinegar, lime juice, oregano, ground allspice and a good pinch of salt, and leave for 15 minutes. The acid softens the onions and takes the raw edge off.
5. Tip the onions and all their liquid into the hot broth and simmer 10 minutes. Taste for salt and acid — it should be sharp enough to make you blink.
6. Return the chicken, on the bone or pulled into large pieces, and warm through for 5 minutes.
7. Serve in deep bowls with the habanero left whole on top for looks, warm tortillas alongside, and lime and sliced chilli on the table.

Technique

• The habanero goes in whole and comes out whole. Left intact it perfumes the pot; split, it makes a soup most people cannot eat. Anyone who wants the heat can burst theirs in their own bowl.
• The onions should still have some bite when the soup reaches the table. Cooked to collapse they turn sweet, and the whole point of escabeche is the sourness holding against the fat of the chicken.
• Thighs and drumsticks make a better broth than breast, which goes dry in the time the broth needs.

Substitutions

• Cider vinegar in place of white; the sweetness suits it, so pull back the lime a little.
• Scotch bonnet is the same pepper by another name and behaves identically.
• No comal: a dry cast-iron pan, or the onions under a hot grill until blistered.

Variations

• The Yucatán version, sopa de lima, drops the vinegar and leans entirely on lime, with fried tortilla strips over the top.
• Some Belizean cooks poach the chicken whole and shred it completely; others grill the pieces after poaching so the skin crisps before it goes back in.

History

Onion and lime soup with chicken, from Yucatan’s Spanish-derived escabeche pickling tradition, spiced with charred habanero and allspice.

Frequently asked questions

What is Escabeche?

Escabeche is a soup & stew from Belize: tangy onion soup with chicken and jalapeños. Onion and lime soup with chicken, from Yucatan’s Spanish-derived escabeche pickling tradition, spiced with charred habanero and allspice.

How long does Escabeche take to make?

Escabeche takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hour 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Escabeche?

Yes, within limits. Cider vinegar in place of white; the sweetness suits it, so pull back the lime a little. Scotch bonnet is the same pepper by another name and behaves identically. No comal: a dry cast-iron pan, or the onions under a hot grill until blistered.

What is the most important thing to get right in Escabeche?

Char the onion rings, the unpeeled garlic and the whole habanero on a dry comal or heavy pan over high heat, turning, until blackened in patches and just softening — five to eight minutes. This is the step that makes it escabeche rather than onion soup: the char is where the depth comes from.