Deciding to go back to a low carb diet so that I can indulge over the weekend is no small feat. As much as I want to stick to a steadfast diet of veggies and protein shakes, I need to remember why I enjoy eating in the first place.
Since I am steaming and grilling more vegetables than ever, I have been blending and playing around with different ingredients inspired by my time spent in Swiss Italy. Locarno, a small town in the Swiss-Italian region just above Milan, is a resort city with a classic charm for small town values. As I was walking along the lake that separates that part of Switzerland from Italy (Lago Maggiore), I passed a standalone pickled-bottles market. No owner in sight, you just leave the money for the price of the item in a money box. An honor system that could only exist in this small community.
There you can find many bottles from pickled onions to creamed peppers. Since they were all pickled, there was no need to worry about the shelf life which inspired me to consider making pickled marinades that I could just use for those days I don't feel like cooking.
Inspired by the idea of making a pesto, this recipe uses boquerones (a speciality white fish in Spain) or white anchovies. Preferably set in vinegar. Since I like to make a big batch of this marinade, I use about a whole package of arugula. Everything else is so simple in preparing this recipe, because I just blend it all in a food processor. This may be the lazy way to prepare this marinade, but there is really not much to it. It is just a marinade for making any vegetable taste better.
| Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
| 10 MINUTES | 0 MINUTES | 10 MINUTES |
Ingredients:
8-10 boquerones (marinated white anchovies)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh arugula leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
A small handful of fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of vinegar if not included with fish.
Instructions:
-
In a food processor, combine all the ingredients until smooth. Make sure the
- Once the marinade has a smooth consistency, store it in your fridge for future use.
You can adjust the quantities of ingredients based on your preferences. Feel free to add a squeeze of lemon juice, sprinkle of red pepper flake, or add sun dried tomatoes. I have recently used this as the base for my roasted eggplants.
Leave comments if you have any suggestions or feedback about this recipe!
