Salsa Veracruzana Recipes

VERACRUZ SAUCE (FOR FISH OR CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Warm oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute garlic briefly to release its flavor.
• Add tomatoes and onions and cook over low heat until tomatoes soften, about 20 minutes.
• Add jalapeño, olives, oregano, capers, water, and salt, to taste. Simmer for an additional 20 minutes.
• Serve Veracruz Sauce over grilled or pan-fried white fish or chicken breast. Accompany this with white rice , if you like.
• Use one whole red snapper of about 3 pounds or two pounds of snapper filets. If using the whole snapper, clean it and remove the scales, but leave the head and tail on for presentation.
• Prick the fish with a fork on both sides.
• Lay the fish (or the filets) in a single layer in a shallow baking dish. Whisk together 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice, a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, and 2 cloves (diced) of garlic. Pour this marinade over the snapper and refrigerate for about an hour.
• Make Veracruz Sauce (above), but reduce garlic to only 2 or 3 cloves. Simmer sauce for only about 5 minutes after adding jalapeños and other ingredients, as it will finish cooking in the oven.
• Cover the fish with the sauce and bake in a 300 F (150 C) oven for about 30 minutes, turning once.

WHOLE SNAPPER WITH GRILLED VERA CRUZ SALSA

Steps:

• For the salsa: Preheat a charcoal grill for medium-high heat.
• Brush the bell peppers, tomatoes and chiles with oil and season with salt and pepper.
• Grill the bell peppers until charred on all sides and just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Remove to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let steam for 15 minutes. Remove the skin and seeds and dice.
• Grill the tomatoes until charred on all sides and just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Remove to a cutting board, let rest for 10 minutes and coarsely chop.
• Grill the chiles until charred on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let steam for 10 minutes, and finely chop.
• Combine the bell peppers, tomatoes, chiles, olives, cilantro, capers, thyme, oregano, vinegar and oil in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
• For the snapper: Combine the achiote, coriander and oregano in a small saute pan and toast over low heat until just fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool slightly and grind in a coffee grinder. Combine the ground spices with the paprika, salt and pepper in a large baking dish. Add the lime juice, garlic and oil, and whisk until the consistency a smooth paste. Sprinkle the fish all over with salt and pepper. Rub one side of each fish generously with some of the paste. Cover and marinate for 20 minutes.
• Preheat a charcoal grill for direct medium-high heat and indirect grilling.
• Grill the fish, paste-side down, over the direct heat, until the paste is nicely charred, 5 to 7 minutes. Carefully flip the fish over using a large, heavy duty spatula and move the fish to the opposite side of the coals. Cover the grill and continue cooking until just cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the fish to a large platter. Spoon the salsa on top and garnish with the fresh herbs.

VERACRUZ-STYLE TILAPIA ("PESCADO A LA VERACRUZANA")

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the fish fillets on both sides with salt and black pepper, to taste. Saute the fillets until they are opaque and just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the fish to a glass baking dish where they fit snugly.
• In the same saute pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, Anaheim chile, bay leaf and oregano and bring the pan to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and let the sauce simmer until the chiles soften, about 6 minutes. Uncover the pan, add the olives and capers, and cook until the flavors combine, about 4 minutes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Pour the sauce over the fish in the baking dish. Bake until the fish is heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven, discard the bay leaf and serve.

VERACRUZ-STYLE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a medium stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add whole garlic cloves, and cook, stirring, until golden on all sides. Remove garlic and discard. Add minced garlic and the onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced, about 15 minutes.
• Add olives, chiles, capers, bay leaves, parsley, thyme, marjoram, oregano, salt, canela, and wine. Cook until the sauce has thickened to desired consistency, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and adjust for seasoning. If using fresh whole herbs, remove and discard before serving.

VERACRUZ-STYLE RED SNAPPER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion; cook and stir until onions begin to turn translucent, 6 to 7 minutes.
• Cook and stir in garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add capers and caper juice; stir to combine.
• Stir in tomatoes, olives, jalapeno pepper, . Cook and stir until jalapeno pepper softens and tomatoes begin to collapse, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in oregano.
• Drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil into a small baking dish. Sprinkle in 1 tablespoon of the tomato-olive mixture. Top with 1 snapper fillet, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Top with more filling and juice from 1 lime. Repeat with remaining snapper fillet, seasoning, and lime juice in a second baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until fish is flaky and no longer translucent, 15 to 20 minutes.

SALSA VERACRUZANA

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a pot on medium high, and then cook the onions and jalapeños for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute, then turn off the heat and then stir in the crushed tomatoes, scraping any brown bits that might have formed on the bottom of the pan. Mix well but don't let it get hot. Immediately place the tomato mixture into a blender, and puree into smooth. Pour the blended tomato mixture back into the pot, and add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf and serve.

PESCADO VERACRUZANO (BAKED FISH VERACRUZ STYLE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Squeeze lime and rub fish with juice. Coarsely chop lime rind and put in cavity. Sprinkle fish inside and out with pepper. Place in baking dish.
• Heat oil in saucepan and add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until wilted. Add green peppers and stir briefly. Add oregano, pepper flakes and tomatoes. Bring to boil and let cook about 10 minutes.
• Pour sauce over fish and place in oven. Bake, basting often with sauce, about 30 minutes or until done. When cooked, back fin bones will slip out easily when tugged. Brush fish with sauce and serve.