Le Zucchine

Method:

Red mullet, vinegar and sweet onions

Serves 4. Allow 35 minutes of preparation and cooking, then 12 hours in the fridge. Lightly fried red mullet takes on the sharpness of vinegar and the sweetness of softened onions overnight. This is our home-kitchen version of scabeccio, the Ligurian fish preparation related to escabeche. The thin flour coating softens in the marinade; that is part of the dish.

What “preserving” means here

Scabeccio comes from a tradition of preserving fish in vinegar. This particular recipe is a refrigerated cooked dish with a maximum life of 48 hours from cooking, including the overnight marinade. Its acidity and storage life have not been validated for longer preservation. Keep it at 4°C or colder. A closed lid, an oil covering or boiling the filled container does not make it a shelf-stable preserve. Do not water-bath or pressure-can this recipe, vacuum-pack it, or store it under a layer of oil.

Choose and prepare the fish

Buy 600 g of cleaned, scaled, skin-on red mullet fillets; ask the fishmonger to remove the pin bones and check again at home. Keep them refrigerated until cooking. Red mullet is not automatically a sustainable choice: ask for the exact species, catch area and fishing method, and check the current rating for that fishery before buying. Choose a well-rated, traceable source; “local” alone is not a sustainability guarantee.
Slice the onion thinly and peel and slice the garlic. Measure 200 ml of commercial white wine vinegar labelled 5% acidity and 100 ml of water. The ratio gives this dish its flavour; it is not a tested preservation formula. Use half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of whole black peppercorns for the batch.

Cook the onion marinade

In a stainless-steel saucepan, soften the onion in 15 ml of the olive oil over medium-low heat for 8–10 minutes. Add the garlic, two bay leaves, a small rosemary sprig and the peppercorns. Cook for another minute. Add the measured vinegar, water and half the salt. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 3 minutes. Set aside briefly while the fish cooks.

Fry the red mullet

Pat the fillets dry, season with the remaining salt and dust lightly with the flour, shaking off the excess. Heat the remaining 45 ml of oil in a wide frying pan. Fry in batches, skin-side down first, for about 2–3 minutes, then turn carefully and cook for another 1–2 minutes. Thickness changes the timing: check with a clean food thermometer that the thickest part reaches 63°C (145°F). Use clean utensils and a clean plate for cooked fish; discard the unused flour that touched raw fish.

Marinate in the fridge

Place the fish loosely in one or two clean, shallow, heat-safe glass or ceramic dishes. Spoon the onions and vinegar marinade over and between the fillets; do not pack tightly or add an oil cap. Cool promptly in these shallow portions and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking, or within 1 hour if the room is above 32°C. Do not wait for everything to reach room temperature. Cover once chilled, label with the cooking time and keep at 4°C or colder. Let the flavour develop for 12 hours in the fridge.

Serve and keep

Lift out only the portions you need with clean utensils and return the remaining dish to the fridge immediately. Leave the serving on its plate for about 10 minutes to take off the chill, then eat with bread and a green salad. Use everything within 48 hours of cooking; the 12-hour marinade is included in that time. Freeze promptly after cooling if you need longer storage, accepting a softer texture after thawing. Discard food if the time or temperature limits have not been maintained; tasting or smelling it cannot establish safety against botulism.

Sources and recipe scope

Checked 13 September 2026. Ligucibario: scabeccio documents the culinary tradition. This recipe uses FDA cooking and chilling guidance and the FSA 48-hour limit for cooked leftovers. OSU Extension: pickling fish describes a separate preservation method; its storage times must not be transferred to this dish. See MCS: how fishery ratings work for sourcing.