You may be surprised at how simple it is to prepare small fish of any variety for homemade tapas. In Spain, the most popular variety is Boquerones, (also known as “white anchovies”).
In the San Francisco Bay Area authentic Boquerones (Latin name : Engraulis Encrasicolus) can be found packaged and ready to eat at specialty shops such as The Spanish Table which also sells Bacalau or salted cod), plus other specialty food items and cookware from around the world.
Cleaning and preparing boquerones can be either tedious or meditative depending upon your disposition. First you’ll have to find a fresh anchovy, sardine, or other suitable small fish. The beauty is that most little fish are not only sustainable but also more healthy for you as they are lower on the food chain and thus have accumulated less toxins in their bodies than the bigger carnivorous fish.
To prepare them simply make a swift slit along the belly, discard the innards, and remove the backbone by running your knife under it and lifting it out from the tail-end upwards.
Now rinse off the de-boned fillets and submerge them overnight in white wine vinegar. This will clean and bleach the flesh and soften any remaining little bones. That’s about it. Changing the vinegar once during the course of the night is also nice touch.
The following morning simply pour off the vinegar and place them in a shallow bowl submerged in olive oil, sliced garlic and fresh parsley. The refrigerated fish will keep quite well for several days in the oil and when you are ready to serve them simply top them off with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a pinch of (smoked) salt, and a bit more olive oil.
Now they can be presented on the table beside thick wedges of bread or garlic toast and a consortium of accompaniments including heirloom tomatoes, roasted new potatoes, sheep’s milk cheese, fresh radishes, olives, and pickled onions.