Review: Snapper w/ Caper Sauce, May -01

[beacooker]

Made the Snapper with Caper Sauce for dinner last night, and it was very good. The caper sauce was the best part. I would definitely make this again, but I might substitute chicken for the fish, because the flavors in this seemed a bit too strong for fish. I served roasted potatoes on the side, and the caper sauce tasted great on them!

I am making the Meat and Potato Stuffed Peppers later this week, I'll post a review on it. Next week, I plan on cooking one of the chicken thigh recipes (the hard part will be choosing which one). Anyone tried any of them yet?

[aggie94]

beacooker:

I haven't tried any of them yet, but I have the stuff to make the stir-fried chicken & broccoli with black bean sauce sometime this week. A friend of mine made the one with paprika and potatoes and it got a thumbs down. She also made the oven-"fried" chicken with buttermilk-mustard sauce, and that one got a very enthusiastic thumbs-up from her.

[KValley]

I can't believe there weren't more responses to this review- has no one else besides beacooker, RobinC (who recommended it in a couple of other fish threads) and me made the West Indian Grilled Red Snapper with Caper Sauce?? I did all sorts of searches, so my apologies if I missed a previous discussion. It's been on my to-try list for a year and I wish I wouldn't have waited so long: It's AMAZING, folks!

I agree with beacooker- the Caper Sauce is great. One major modification, though, that I think made it for me: I didn't add a chili pepper. Simply because I forgot to buy 2- one for the fish marinade, one for the caper sauce. Am I ever glad I didn't. It would have been WAY too hot and would have completely overwhelmed the other terrific flavors- tangy capers and vinegar, bright cilantro, prickly shallots, garlic, refreshing lime. Please try it without- it wasn't at all too much for the fish, but I can easily see how it could have been had the pepper been present. The fish marinade is plenty spicy (I used one habanero). If you want really hot, I suggest kicking that up and leaving the caper sauce alone. DH and I were eating the remainder of the caper sauce out of the dish with a spoon and I poured some over my spinach salad- couldn't get enough.

Not to neglect the fish- it was terrific- just spicy enough. It was too cold and windy to grill (give me a break, already!!!), so I broiled the fish- took about 8 minutes for a pound.

Served with the Coconut Rice from Moosewood Cooks at Home- a golden pilaf using brown rice, coconut, tumeric, cinnamon. Steamed some broccoli and finished up with spinach, just to soak up that great caper sauce.

A definite repeat for a great summer meal. Really lovely colors and flavors.

[valchemist]

thanks for the review, julie.

I thought this was may '02 when I read beacookers response, but now I see that you resurrected a thread from last year.

here is the recipe, for anyone who was intrigued by these two reviews, as I was.

val



* Exported from MasterCook *

French West Indian Grilled Snapper With Caper Sauce

Recipe By :Cooking Light Magazine. May 2001. Page: 134.
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Fish

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
Marinade:
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, minced -- (1 to 2)
4 red snapper or other firm white fish
fillets (6-ounces, each)
Caper sauce:
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons minced Scotch bonnet or habanero pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 large shallot, chopped
Cooking spray

Directions.
Here's how fish is served at the open-air cook shacks lining the beaches of Guadeloupe. The marinade features the four essential seasonings of the French West Indies: lime juice, garlic, fresh thyme, and Scotch bonnet chiles. This recipe calls for snapper, but any firm white fish will work. We left the seeds in the pepper, but you can omit them for a milder flavor. This is great with Rice and Pigeon Peas.

The Rice and Pigeon Peas recipe can be found in the May 2001 issue.

1. To prepare marinade, place first 6 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Combine marinade and fish in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 2 to 4 hours, turning bag occasionally.

2. Prepare grill.

3. To prepare caper sauce, place cilantro and next 10 ingredients (cilantro through shallot) in a blender or food processor; process until smooth.

4. Remove fish from marinade, discard marinade. Place fish on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve with caper sauce. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet and 2 tablespoons sauce).

[KValley]

Thanks for posting the recipe, Val. I'm so enthusiastic about this one! :)

[MishT]

"French West Indian Grilled Snapper With Caper Sauce" is so good if you like spicy food. the sauce is great. feels like you are in caribbean. It will be a repeater for me.