Cazón en adobo: marinated dogfish
Cádiz, Andalusia
Cádiz's most beloved street food — small cubes of dogfish (cazón, Mustelus mustelus) marinated overnight in a paste of vinegar, garlic, cumin, oregano, pimentón, and salt, then dredged in flour and fried in olive oil. The adobo marinade tenderises the fish, infuses it with the spice blend, and the slight acidity of the vinegar prevents any fishy smell during frying.
The adobo preparation — from the same Arabic root as the word 'adobe' — is one of the most direct expressions of Moorish culinary technique in modern Andalusian cooking: the spice-vinegar marinade for preservation and flavour is documented in the earliest Andalusian cookbooks.