Fish Vera Cruz Recipes

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.

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.