Sunday, August 2, 2009

Snapper Veracruz

Ingredients:

- 4 snapper fillets, 6 ounces each 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Kosher Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Olive Oil
- Butter
- 1 large onion, finely sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- Chicken Stock (optional)- if added, reduce amount of wine.
- 2 large tomatoes, chopped
- Tomato sauce (optional)- I added just a little of this to cut the acidity of the tomatoes...may not be needed if good tomatoes
- 3/5 cup mixed green and black kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
-2 tablespoons capers, drained
- 1 serrano pepper, finely chopped
- Sweet Red Pepper, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1-2 bay leaf
- Ground cumin, paprika, and cayenne to taste
- Dash Tabasco, to taste
- Cilantro or Parsley, chopped for garnish

Directions:

- Brush the fish with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and cumin.
- Sear fish in butter and olive oil for a couple minutes each side until nicely browned. You can fully cook on stove, or move to a 350 degrees oven once browned on each side.
For Sauce:
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, add onions, chopped sweet pepper, serrano pepper, garlic, and cook until soft.
- Add wine, bring to a boil and reduce. Add chicken stock if desired. Bring to a boil and reduce.
- Add tomatoes, green olives, black olives, capers, sugar, ground cumin, cayenne ,and bay leaf and bring to a boil and cook until thickened. Add tabasco to taste. Taste and add additional seasonings as needed. Add tomato sauce if needed.
- Reduce heat, add grilled fish and cook (You fish will probably already be cooked, but you can throw it in for a couple minutes to absorb some of the sauce...just be careful not to overcook the fish).
- Remove bay leaf
- Garnish w/ cilantro and serve.