Mexican Dreaming: Snapper Veracruz

I first encountered this dish in Zihuatanejo on the west coast of Mexico over 25 years ago. It remains one of the best meals I’ve ever had in that beautiful country and is so simple to prepare that’s it’s worth sharing.

Menu

• Snapper Veracruz
• Thai scented rice

Snapper Veracruz

Recipe: Snapper Veracruz

• Serves: 2-4 depending on additional side dishes
• Time: 30-45 minutes
• Style: Mexican, Fish, Seafood, Main

Ingredients:

• 2-4 good quality white fish fillets
• 1 Med. red bell pepper cut into thin strips
• 1 Med. green bell pepper cut into thin strips
• 1 or more small Serrano chilies, seeded and minced (opt.)
• 1 Med. onion sliced in thin strips
• 2-4 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 Med. Tomato, chopped (or 1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes)
• 1/4 cup green olives chopped or sliced
• 1-2 tsp of drained capers
• 1 tsp Cumin, ground
• 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
• 1/2 c Red/White wine
• Water (as needed)
• 2-3 Tbsp Cilantro, chopped
• Coarse Salt
• Olive oil
• Fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 Med. Lime

Salted Fillets

Wrapped Fillets

Method:

1. Prepare the fish fillets – Rinse with cold water (and debone if not boneless). Pat dry with paper towel and liberally salt both sides with coarse salt. Wrap salted fillets in multiple layers of paper towel or a clean tea towel. Thinner fillets should be salted for about 8-10 minutes, slightly thicker for 15-20. After resting rinse off the salt from the fillets under cold running water, pat dry and set aside.
2. Once the fish is ready, prepare your vegetables – Cut the sides away from the core of the bell peppers and thinly slice (about 2-3 mm thickness). Skin and cut the onion in half lengthwise and cut into thin slices about the same thickness as the peppers. Mince the garlic and chilies (if using), pit and slice the olives. Chop the tomato into roughly 1 cm cubes.
3. Create the sauce – In a large frying or sautéing pan, add a tablespoon or so of olive oil and heat to medium. Add the onions when the oil is hot, fry for a minute or so then add the peppers stirring frequently. When the peppers start to soften a little, add the garlic and chilies (if using) and cook for two minutes being careful not to brown the garlic. Add the cumin and crushed oregano and stir for a minute to combine. Throw in the tomatoes and add a few grinds of black pepper. Add wine, olives and capers. Reduce the heat a little and stir occasionally until the tomatoes break down and the mixture becomes “sauce” like. If it looks a little dry add a bit more wine or water. Taste and add more salt/spices if necessary.
4. Cook the fish – Pushing the vegetable mixture to the outer edges of the pan, carefully lay the prepared fillets in the middle of the pan and then push the vegetable/sauce mixture over the top of the fillets and cook until done (about 5-10 minutes). Sprinkle in the chopped cilantro add a light squeeze of lime and serve over rice.

Prepped Ingredients

Sautéing Vegetables

Finished Sauce Covering Fish

Notes:

• Salting the fish is entirely optional but it will firm the tender fillets and allow them to pick up the flavor or the sauce quickly. This step does not make the fillets taste “salty” provided you don’t leave the salt on too long.
• The salt you use for the fish is important! Use pickling, very coarse kosher or coarse sea salt. Do not use table salt. The latter will destroy the delicate flesh of the fish and over-salt the finished dish.
• This dish works with almost any type of whitefish – cod, lingcod, haddock, rockfish, etc- fresh or frozen. The fillets shown in the photos are pacific cod. The fillets shouldn’t be too thick, maybe 2 cm max. Thicker fillets will work but you’ll get less flavor from the sauce into the flesh. You could also substitute large uncooked prawns easily (but skip the salting if you do).
• Figure on 250 grams (1/2 lb) of fish per person. The only trick is using a pan big enough to lay the fish into.
• This is one dish where I don’t measure too closely. The measurements given are more of a guide than anything. Go with your gut. Not saucy enough? Add more tomato. Love olives? Go big. Not keen on spice? Skip the Serrano chili (I usually do even though I love spicy foods). Be creative.

Hot Tamales!

I made tamales for the first time last night. Well I should say I heated pre-made tamales last night.

I’ve travelled through Mexico a bit and eaten a wide variety of traditional dishes, but this is the first time I’ve served tamales. It’s not like I haven’t heard of them–like enchiladas or refritos, they’re almost iconic in Mexican cuisine. For those who haven’t come across this dish before, a tamale is a seasoned centre filling (usually chicken or pork) surrounded in a thick masa dough that is packaged and cooked in dried corn husk skins or plantain leaves.

We picked up ours at a local Mexican food wholesaler/retailer, El Comal, where they make a wide assortment of authentic Mexican food plus some of the best tortillas north of the 49th parallel. We grabbed a half dozen ready to heat chicken tamales pre-wrapped in their familiar dried corn husk “skins”. The daughter of the owner at El Comal said that you could microwave, steam, bake or grill them–anything but boiling. I opted to grill them over a low flame–turning every 4-7 minutes for a total of about 15-20 minutes. I was flying a bit blind having not been given any instructions other than “heat and serve”, but the results were very good–at least to my eye.

They were, well… nice. Not “exploding with flavour” nice, but more of a wholesome “comfort food” nice. Once removed from the husks and drizzled with a yogurt/salsa picante sauce they made a good protein/carbohydrate centre to the family meal. My children were especially enthusiastic about them, eating four of the six tamales between them.

Tamale Meal for Four

• 6-8 Tamales
• Yogurt and salsa picante sauce
• Oaxacan black beans (recipe below)
• Feta stuffed mini bell peppers
• Sliced oranges
• Milk for the kids, red wine for us

To make the yogurt and salsa picante sauce, simply combine very spicy thin salsa with 3.5% MF yogurt to taste. The bean recipe shown below was a nice addition to the meal.

Recipe: Oaxacan Black Beans

• 19 oz Can of black beans (sometimes called Turtle beans)
• 2-3 Strips of bacon, chopped
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 Tbs Olive oil or butter
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• Water or chicken stock
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Rinse beans in a fine sieve removing the liquid and any fine particles
2. Melt butter or heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat
3. Saute onions and chopped bacon until onions become translucent
4. Add cinnamon and beans to the pan stirring to coat the beans in oil and combine the ingredients well
5. Lightly mash a small portion of the beans using a wooden spoon and stir gently to combine
6. Continue cooking for a few minutes stirring frequently to prevent the mixture from sticking to the pan
7. Add water or stock to create a saucy consistency and simmer for five minutes stirring frequently
8. Add salt and pepper to taste
9. Transfer to a bowl and serve warm

Notes: I make this dish quite often. This simple bean recipe makes a nice accompaniment to any Mexican inspired dish. It adds protien and complex carbohydrates to the meal and fills in the gap when serving smaller portions of a main dish.

Adapted from, Sunset Books, Mexican Cook Book: Simplified techniques 155 classic recipes, 1983.*

Aaron

*My wife has a collection of these quirky 1970’s books covering everything from architecture to home repair. This one looks and feels like it was written by a Mexican homemaker as opposed to a restaurateur–basic “home and gardens” stuff. There’s lots of treasures to be found in old cookbooks such as these and I’m not about to turn my nose up at a book just because it wasn’t authored by a celebrity chef.