Flaherty Wines

Merquén (or merkén) is a spice powcer that has become popular in Chilean cooking in the last several years. It is a traditional ingredient in Mapuche cooking, but has only recently debuted on the broader Chilean food scene. It is made from the dried, smoked cacho de cabra pepper, which is quite hot. Cacho de cabra means goat’s horn, and the pepper is, indeed, long and curved, like a goat’s horn. Note that the word cacho is slang for another part of the anatomy in the Caribbean, which leads to some interesting mistranslations of the pepper’s name.

Merquén is usually a blend of the smoked pepper, oregano, cumin, and salt, but the rich smoky flavor and spicy hot (picante) pepper dominate. It is available at some Whole Foods stores and also online. If you can’t find it, you might try substituting chipotle powder, which is also smoked but has a different flavor profile.

For the tartar sauce, I start with a blender mayonnaise, season with merquén, and then add capers, pickle, and green onion.

I fried the fish in caper oil and garnished with fried capers. This is a trick I learned from John Ash—frying takes the bite out of the capers and leaves a nicely flavored oil. Rinse the capers (about a tablespoon per person) and pat dry. Heat the olive oil in a small pan and deep fry the capers for a few minutes, until crisp, being careful not to burn the oil. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the capers to a paper towel to drain.

Now pour the oil into the pan you will use for the fish. (I suppose you could fry the capers in the fish pan, but you won’t get that deep-frying effect.) Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper and lightly coat with flour. Pan fry in the caper oil a few minutes per side, until done. I cover the fish on the first side, to ensure it cooks through, then leave the cover off on the second side.

Serve with the merquén tartar sauce and a garnish of fried capers. Sra. Juana’s pebre is spectacular as a second sauce—the garlic and cilantro complement the tartar sauce beautifully. Our wine last night was a 2007 Equus Chardonnay, which was nicely balanced (although the label did not withstand the ice bucket, as evidenced in the photo).

Merquén tartar sauce

1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 TBSP white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 – 1 tsp ground merquén
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup (or more) vegetable oil (or use all olive oil)

3–4 TBSP dill pickle, chopped
2 TBSP parsley, minced
1 TBSP capers, chopped
1 TBSP green onion, minced

To make the mayonnaise: combine the egg, egg yolk, vinegar, mustard, salt, and 1/2 tsp merquén in a blender and process until smooth. With the blender on low, slowly pour in the olive oil and 1/3 cup vegetable oil. Add additional vegetable oil if needed for consistency. Taste and add additional merquén, as desired.

To finish the tartar sauce, stir in the pickle, parsley, capers, and green onion. Refrigerate until needed. Can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days.