Boquerones en vinagre is a Spanish tapa made with fish marinated in vinegar, and seasoned with garlic, parsley and oil. Learn how to make a vegan version!
Boquerones en vinagre were one of the Spanish tapas I ate the most when I was a child, because it's so popular in my home town and also because I loved it so much.
Excluding boquerones (fresh anchovy fillets), the recipe is made with vegan ingredients: vinegar, salt, garlic, parsley and extra virgin olive oil. If we use zucchini instead of fish, we'll get a delicious plant-based tapa.
This recipe is pretty similar to the classic one, but this one is much quicker as we don't need to freeze, clean, de-scale and submerge the fish in a bath of salt and water for hours. We just need to marinade the zucchini strips, drain them and serve with some garlic, parsley and oil. We can save some time and enjoy a healthier, cruelty-free Spanish tapa. It's a win-win!
We want to get a similar appearance and texture to boquerones, so we need to peel the zucchini and discard the central part because we don't want any seeds in our strips (see picture below).
I've been vegan for 4 years and I was afraid of making vegan fish alternatives at the beginning, but it's really easy. You just need to find a plant-based food with a similar consistency, follow the classic recipe and add some nori flakes to get that fishy flavor, that's all!
looking for more Spanish recipes?
- Vegan Spanish beef stew
- 20-Minute vegan Spanish fabada
- Spanish spinach with chickpeas
- Pan con Tomate (Spanish Tomato Toast)
- Fat-free patatas bravas
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment below, share it, rate it or tag a picture @simpleveganblog on Instagram and hashtag it #simpleveganblog. We’d love to see what you cook!
Vegan Spanish Boquerones en Vinagre
Ingredients
- 1 large zucchini, 14 oz or 400 g
- 1 nori sheet or 2 tablespoon nori flakes, optional
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1-2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Peel the zucchini and make â…› inch or 3 mm zucchini strips using a mandolin, a peeler or a knife. Discard the central part, because you don't want any seeds in your zucchini strips. If you use a mandoline (as we did) or a knife, your strips will be probably too wide, so just cut them in halves. We're trying to recreate the size of a boqueron (a fresh anchovy fillet).
- Blend the nori sheet in a powerful blender until you get nori flakes. You can also finely chop the nori sheet with a knife or use store-bought nori flakes.
- Add the zucchini and salt to a large glass container or a bowl and mix with your hands or a spoon until well combined.
- Add the vinegar, water and nori flakes and stir. Keep in the fridge covered for at least 4 hours, best overnight. The zucchini strips have to be fully covered by the marinade.
- Drain the zucchini strips and wash them well or they will have a strong vinegar flavor.
- Serve in a dish and top with the garlic, parsley and oil.
- Keep leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.
Notes
- Nori flakes are optional, but they give this recipe a fishy flavor.
- Feel free to use any type of vinegar.
- Classic recipe is made with more oil. Boquerones are usually covered with oil, but I this recipe is also delicious and much lighter.
- If you want your vegan boquerones with a more intense fishy flavor, add more nori flakes just before serving.
- Nutritional info is not accurate, as we discard most of the marinade, so the amount in sodium is not that high.
Ana says
¡Hola Iosune!
Solo querÃa darte las gracias por adaptar todas estas recetas tÃpicas de nuestra gastronomÃa al veganismo, asà como por publicarlas libremente para que todos tengamos acceso; en mi opinión, estás haciendo un trabajo genial. 🙂
¡Espero impaciente tu próximas recetas!
Ana
Iosune Robles says
¡MuchÃsimas gracias por tus palabras Ana! Me alegro de que disfrutes de nuestras recetas 🙂 Un abrazo!