The Tinned Fish 25 · No. 19 of 25

  1. Selección 1920 Mussels in Escabeche from Real Conservera Española No.19Photo: RTG

    Mussels, cockles and clams · Spain

    Selección 1920 Mussels in Escabeche

    From Real Conservera Española · Galicia

    Fried, in escabecheNot spicy

    Galician mussels fried in olive oil and then marinated in escabeche, the vinegar-and-paprika pickle Spain has used for centuries. Selección 1920 is the premium line; the cannery says serve them chilled.

    Tangy, rich and addictive. Chill the tin 10 minutes before you open it.

    Eat it withPotato chipsRiceA cold beer
    Order from RTG ↗

    Real Conservera Española doesn't sell this tin direct here, so the button goes to RTG, a shop that carries it.

    Chef's quick recipe

    Escabeche mussel rice

    20 min · 2 servings · The escabeche is the dressing: its vinegar and paprika season plain rice in one move.

    Save to my recipes

    You need

    • 1 tin Real Conservera mussels in escabeche
    • 1 cup (190 g) cooked rice, warm
    • ½ small red onion, finely diced
    • ½ cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
    • 2 tbsp chopped parsley
    • 1 tsp sherry vinegar
    • Salt
    • Lemon wedges

    How to make it

    1. Spoon the warm rice into a bowl.
    2. Pour the escabeche from the tin over the rice and stir so every grain is coated. Add the sherry vinegar and a pinch of salt; taste.
    3. Fold in the onion, tomatoes and parsley.
    4. Set the mussels on top and serve warm or at room temperature, with lemon.

    Chef's own recipe, in our words, built around the tin. It isn't Real Conservera Española's.

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← No. 18 Don BocarteNo. 20 La Belle-Iloise →

How to buy a good tin. Look for the fish named on the front (sardines, not "fish"), olive oil rather than "vegetable oil", and a cannery's name and town on the back.

Keep it. Most tins last years in a cool cupboard, and sardines in oil get better with a year or two. Anchovies are the exception: keep them in the fridge.

Serve it. Warm oily fish a little (stand the closed tin in hot tap water for 5 minutes). Chill shellfish in escabeche for 10 minutes. Always keep the oil: it's the sauce.

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