Veracruz Style Spaghetti Recipes

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 SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package instructions. Set aside.
• In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook for 2 minutes or until tender. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and capers. Stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes more. Add bay leaves, oregano and cooking wine; stir until all ingredients have mixed.
• Lower heat and add pasta. Stir, evenly coating pasta with sauce. Cook for 5 minutes until heated through.
• Top with fresh parsley and a jalapeño on the side (optional).

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.

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.

SHRIMP PASTA VERACRUZ STYLE

Steps:

• Cook pasta as directed on package.
• Meanwhile, blend 1 can tomatoes and oregano in blender until smooth. Drain remaining can tomatoes; discard liquid. Cook and stir shrimp, in batches, in large nonstick skillet 2 min. Return shrimp to skillet. Add drained tomatoes, olives, jalapeños and carrots; cook 2 min. Stir in tomato sauce; bring to boil. Simmer on medium-low heat 2 min., stirring occasionally.
• Drain pasta. Add to skillet with cheeses; cook 3 min. or until mozzarella is melted and mixture is well blended and heated through, stirring constantly.