BA: red snapper, veracruz style

[greta]

in honor of cinco de mayo, i grabbed my may '03 bon appetit (dedicated to the soul of mexico) and decided to make red snapper, veracruz style.

i am traditionally not a fan of capers, but i just ignored myself on this one!

the dish was very easy to put together, and was indeed delicious. the green olives and capers did not JUMP out, instead they melded with the tomatoes into a mellow but flavorful sauce.

i served the snapper with roasted garlic orzo pilaf (my husband LOVES this rice).

here's the snapper recipe (just in case):

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes in juice, well drained, juices reserved

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
3 large garlic cloves, minced
3 small bay leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp dried mexian oregano
1/4 cup chopped pitted green olives
2 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons drained capers

6 4 to 5 oz red snapper fillets
3 pickled jalapeno chiles, halved lengthwise

place drained tomatoes in medium bowl. using potato masher, crush tomatoes to coarse puree. drain again, reserving juices.

heat oil in heavy large skillet over med-hi heat. add onion and stir 30 seconds. add garlic and stir 30 seconds. add tomato puree and cook 1 min. add bay leaves, parsley, oregano, and 1/4 cup reserved tomato juices. simmer until sauce thickens, about 3 min. add olives, raisins, capers, and all remaining reserved tomato juices. simmer until sauce thickens again, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

preheat oven to 425 degrees. spread 3 tablespoons sauce in bottom of 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. arrange fish atop of sauce. sprinkle fish lightly with salt and pepper. spoon remaining sauce over. baked uncovered until fish is just opaque in center, about 18 min.

garnish w/ pickled jalapeno halves.


enjoy!

[erin elizabeth]

I thought this recipe looked good too--until I got to the raisins. Should I just ignore myself? Was the taste of the raisins really important or could I just leave them out?

[greta]

erin,
i think you could safely go either way on this one. if you decided to leave them in, you could just eat "around" them. but, i don't really think they added too much to the flavor of the entire dish, so leaving them out would be ok too. i personally liked the raisins, but i like raisins in savory dishes.
don't let it deter you from making the dish...
greta

[Julia1Pin]

I posted a review of this recipe a while ago. I thought it was really good too and I loved the raisins in the dish (it brought a little bit of sweetness to the saltiness of the dish). Yum.

[RebeccaT]

Greta and Julia, that recipe looks really good! I recently discovered that I *love* Snapper Veracruzana, after trying it at a favorite Mexican place here in Houston. I made the recipe below, found on Epicurious, for DH's birthday, and now I'll have to be try the one you posted to compare! Thanks for the review!

Here's a similar recipe for those who are interested, this one has a little heat, and the cinnamon adds an interesting flavor:

RED SNAPPER VERACRUZANA
Red snapper is the fish of choice in Veracruz, Mexico, where this dish originated. The combination of the cinnamon, olives, capers, and peppers gives the sauce heat and depth.
This is a quick, light dish, good with boiled potatoes and rice.

1 pound onions (2 medium), chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 to 1 whole jalapeño or serrano pepper, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
8 large Spanish or Italian green olives, pitted and chopped
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons capers, chopped if large (tiny ones can be left whole)
2 1/2 cups peeled canned low-sodium tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 pounds red snapper, sea bass, halibut, or cod
Juice of 1 lime

In a nonstick pan, sauté the onions in hot oil until they begin to soften and color. When they color, add the garlic and jalapeño and cook for 30 seconds.

Add the oregano, olives, cinnamon, and capers to the onion mixture and stir. Squeeze the tomatoes between your fingers and add, with the bay leaf. Simmer for 10 minutes. Refrigerate.

To serve, wash the fish and squeeze the lime juice over it. Refrigerate for no more than 1 hour.

Reheat the sauce slowly. Arrange the fish in a large skillet, spoon the sauce over it, and cook according to the Canadian rule: measure the fish at its thickest part and allow 8 to 10 minutes to the inch. Remove the bay leaf and serve the fish with its sauce over boiled potatoes or rice.

Serves 4.

[Gail]

Oh heck.

If Rebecca is going to post a variation, so will I. I did this recently and thought it was very tasty. I am not, however, posting the complete recipe for what is rightfully called huachinango a la veracruzano, because it calls for a whole fish and most of us don't cook that way. Basically, I just baked my filets in this sauce till they flaked.

This sauce is from Zarela Martinez, and is not for the faint-hearted. Even I-- who normally breathe fire-- opted to use only 2 chiles.

Anyway, here's yet another take on this dish-- or the sauce, I should say...

Salsa Veracruzano

1/4 cup olive oil (I don't necessarily use the amount she states)
5 garlic cloves (yeah, baby!) 2 minced, 3 left whole
1 medium-sized white oinion, finely chopped
4 - 5 ripe tomatoes (about 2 pounds), finely chopped, or one 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano--Zarela is very big on precise ingredients), coarsely chopped, with their juice
12 pimento-stuffed olives, sliced if large
2 - 3 pickled jalapeño chiles, stemmed, seeded, and cut lengthwise into thin strips
1 tablespoon capers (12 - 15 large or 24- 30 small ones. Like I said; she is exact.)
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 fresh thyme sprigs or 1/4 teaspoon crumbled dried thyme
2 fresh marjoram sprigs or 1/4 teaspoon crumbled dried marjoram
2 fresh oregano sprigs or 1/4 teaspoon crumbled dried Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground canela**
1/2 cup dry white wine

In a heavy saucepan with a well-fitting lid, heat the oil over medium-high heat until rippling. Add the 3 whole garlic cloves and cook, stirring, until deep golden, bout not browned, on all sides; remove and discard. Add the 2 minced garlic cloves and the onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, or until slightly concentrated.

Add all the remaining ingredients and cook, simmered, for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the flavors are richly melded and the sauce is as thick as you like. Taste for salt and add another pinch or two if desired. If using fresh whole herbs, fish them out of the sauce and discard before serving.

**This is the Spanish word for true cinnamon, Cinnamomum Zeylanicum, also called Ceylon cinnamon or soft-stick cinnamon. It is not the same thing as the common hard stick cinnamon sold here, C. Cassia, which is crude and strong-smelling. To make sure that people don't automatically reach for the wrong spice, I always call for canela. Hide your ordinary cinnamon where you can't pick it up by mistake while cooking anything from this book. Canela is flaky and soft enough so you can break off the edges with your fingers, and its subtle flavor blends into other seasonings without sticking out like a sore thumb. It is soft enough to grate in a blender. Ordinary cinnamon will break the blades.

Unfortunately, some Spanish-language packages cheerfully label cassia canela. You can recognize canela by its fragile, flaky appearance.

I do not buy canela preground. Like all dried spices, it tastes best when freshly ground, using an electric coffee or spice grinder or a mortar and pestle.

(From: Zarela's Veracruz)

[greta]

julia1pin,
after reading your reply, i searched for your previous review. i can't believe we both used the word melded!
great minds think alike, i guess.


greta

[Julia1Pin]

Greta - "Melded" is a good word