How to make
Pil Pil is one of the most common and famous sauces in the Spanish cuisine. It hides in itself the tradition and spirit of northern Spain and in particular Pais Vasco, where it originates from.
Pil pil sauce contains simple ingredients, absolutely in the spirit of Basque cuisine, which, if you have come across before, you have certainly noticed the presence of garlic, dried hot peppers and quality olive oil. This was what they had in the years, when they were poor, although it is now one of the richest areas in the country with the highest standard of living.
In this recipe, olive oil, garlic and hot peppers are the main protagonists, but they also have a helper - the magnificent fish bacalhau or also known to us as cod. The gelatinous secretion/fish protein, which this fish secretes during cooking acts as a thickener to make a delicate emulsion and make the sauce creamy.
If served with fish, the dish is called Bacalhau (Spanish Bacalao) al pil pil. But this fish sauce can be served with other dishes and only the bones and skin can be used for the emulsion instead of fish fillets.
To perfect the cooking technique, you may need a little practice, or you may be able to do it easily and perfectly on the first try. In any case, it's worth it, because if you do it the right way, this will be the easiest, fastest and most impressive dish or sauce to show off at the table in front of guests or your family.
I will describe the recipe with fish fillets, because you a dish is obtained, but as we said, it can be made with fish bones and then it can be served with another dish. You decide.
Lets move on to the essential part:
Heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan or pot. It is traditionally prepared in a clay pot, with a wide opening, which is more shallow than our familiar guvec pots and clay pots. In this case, we're using what we have.
Add the garlic cloves, cut into thin slices, in the fat and shortly after them add the hot dried pepper. If it is cayenne pepper, add the 2 whole ones, if it is bigger, cut it into pieces.
The heat should not be strong, so that the garlic doesn't burn. When it turns into slightly golden chips, it is removed along with the pepper with the help of a slotted spoon.
Some cooks leave the fat until the next day and this is done on purpose, to make it more fragrant. But in everyday life and even if we do not have time, we just move on.
Wait for the temperature of the olive oil to drop and leave it on low heat. The fish is put inside and cooked slowly, almost like the confit process - 10 minutes in this case, since it must still remain tender and white fish does not need much time.
Turn it to the other side for a moment.
In this process, you can already see how white bubbles come out, which multiply. This is the fish gelatin/protein, which we need (see photos).
The traditional way is to slowly make the movements in the cookware, in a semicircle and that way visibly the sauce begins to thicken and turn white, until it becomes completely thick. Fortunately, there is a faster and easier method.
Remove the cookware from the heat, wait 2-3 minutes or transfer it into another container - in no case should the mixture be too hot. The fish is taken out and with the help of an inverted strainer, by touching the bottom, movements are made in a circle, so that the sauce thickens quickly. The more you mix, the thicker the pil pil will be. It turned out to be like the consistency of mayonnaise for me and you can see the different stages of how it looks in the photos.
Serve it by pouring it over the fish and distribute the garlic with the hot pepper on top. When done, place it back onto the heat for a minute to warm up.
Enjoy your meal!
