Veracruzana Fish Recipes

VERACRUZ STYLE WHITE FISH

Steps:

• PREPARING THE SAUCE
• Over medium heat, fry the onion and garlic in 3 tablespoons of cooking oil for 4 minutes.
• Add the tomato, black pepper, and salt.
• Reduce the heat to low and cook the sauce for 15 minutes until the tomatoes have given off much of their liquid.
• Then, crush the tomatoes, onion, and garlic with a bean or potato masher.
• Next, add the spices and stir.
• Add the chicken broth.
• Add the chopped olives and capers and stir. Simmer for 15 more minutes.
• COOKING THE FISH
• After the sauce has simmered for 15 minutes, start cooking the fish. In a separate pan over medium heat, lightly brown each side of the fish in 3 tablespoons of oil.
• Once you have browned the fish on both sides, place each fish fillet in the simmering sauce.
• Cook for 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly and the fish is fully cooked and has taken on the flavor of the sauce.
• Check the flavor of the sauce and adjust the salt if necessary.
• SERVING
• Serve the fish with white rice. First, put the rice on the plate then place the fish next to the rice. Gently spoon about 1 cup of the sauce over the fish and serve immediately.

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.

VERACRUZANA FISH

Steps:

• Cut the onion into very thin slices. Grate the tomatoes to get all their flesh. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and sauté onion over medium heat until soft and slightly golden. Add the tomato pulp and allow to stir-fry for 5 minutes more. Cut olives into small pieces and add to skillet. Add the capers and stir with a wooden spoon to incorporate all ingredients well. Chop finely and add chilies. Let the sauce cook for approximately 10 minutes or until thickened. Season with salt and pepper and reserve the sauce.
• Cut the fish fillets and bring the sauce back to the fire. When boiling, add fish fillets and ½ cup of water to prevent the sauce becomes too dry.
• Let cook on medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes (depending on thickness of fillets).
• Serve fillets with a good amount of sauce and spread cilantro or parsley.

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.

FISH VERA CRUZ

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, boil the tomatoes, jalapenos, oregano, and garlic salt for about 8 minutes, or until tomatoes have cooked down to a liquid. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. *Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Return sauce to pan, add chopped onion and cilantro, and stir well. Heat through and keep warm until ready to serve.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat (you can use as little as 2 tablespoons oil to up to 1/2-inch deep). Season fish with salt and pepper and then carefully place in the pan; this may require adding the fish in 2 batches if your skillet is not large enough to hold all 4 fillets. Saute or pan-fry the fish until cooked on 1 side (fish will be opaque on that side). Carefully flip fish and continue cooking until cooked on second side and cooked through in the middle; the fish should be opaque in the middle. Cooking time will vary based on thickness of the fish fillets and the type of fish, but it should not take more than 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Transfer fish onto a serving platter or each of 4 dinner plates and top with the sauce. Serve immediately.

RED SNAPPER VERACRUZANA

Steps:

• 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.

FISH VERACRUZANO

Steps:

• Combine tomato, celery, bay leaves, cilantro, oregano and simmer til celery is tender.
• Cut Olives and jalapenos in half and drain.
• In separate skillet add olive oil, onion, and garlic and saute til onion is clear. Add Onion olive oil mixture to tomatoes along with capers, jalapenos, olives. Cook for 10 minutes more to bring flavors together. Add salt to taste. Maintain hot.
• Separately Cook fish simply in your preferred manner. I just like to put the fish in a skillet with a little wine, butter and salt. Put on lid and cook til flaky. Serve fish on bed of rice and top with tomato sauce.

FISH VERACRUZANA

Steps:

• Put potatoes through thick slicing blade of food processor.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in non-stick skillet or 3 tablespoons in regular skillet. Saute onions over medium high heat until they begin to take on color. Push to the side and add potatoes. Cook, stirring often, until potatoes begin to take on color.
• Put bell peppers and chilies through thick slicing blade of food processor . Add to potatoes with lime juice, garlic and black pepper. Reduce heat and cook until potatoes and peppers are beginning to soften.
• Chop cilantro and add 1/3 cup to skillet, along with tomato puree and fish. Cover fish with vegetables and cook until fish is done, about 8 minutes, depending on thickness of fish.
• Serve the fish with the remaining chopped cilantro for garnish and the lime wedges.

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.

SNAPPER VERACRUZ

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add green pepper, onion, and garlic, and cook until pepper is soft, about 5 minutes. Mix in the white pepper, cinnamon, lime juice, olives, and chiles; cook for 2 more minutes, to blend the flavors. Stir in the tomatoes, and cook until thickened, about 10 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place the snapper filets into a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour the tomato sauce over the filets, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Stir in the capers just before serving.

HUACHINANGO A LA VERACRUZANA (VERACRUZ-STYLE RED SNAPPER)

Steps:

• Place fish in a nonreactive dish and season with salt and pepper. Pour the lime juice over the fish, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• In a Dutch oven over moderate heat, heat the olive oil until hot but not smoking. Add the onion, season with salt, cover, and sweat until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté briefly, then add the tomatoes and more salt. Cover and cook until the tomatoes change color. Lower the heat and add the olives, capers, raisins, jalapeños, and bay leaves. Cover and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, remove the bay leaves, and keep warm until ready to serve.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Place 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of an ovenproof dish. Remove the fish from the marinade and arrange it on top of the sauce. Pour the remaining sauce over the fish then scatter the potato slices on top. Cover and bake until the fish flakes when tested with a fork, about 45 minutes. Garnish with the parsley and serve with the Arroz Blanco.