Pescado a la Veracruzana

Published on October 28, 2019 | By

This baked fish recipe hails originally from Veracruz, Mexico. The classic recipe uses a whole fish, preferably red snapper. The recipe can easily be adapted to use with a variety of firm fresh fish fillets, rather than a whole fish, that are available at your local market. According to Diana Kennedy in “The Cuisines of Mexico,” there are many versions of this recipe. Some recipes call for frying the filleted fish and some serve it as a casserole with the fish fillets and sauce in layers. My preference is to make it with a whole fish. I love the drama and the presentation of the whole fish at the table. I have also successfully substituted fillets of black drum, red snapper, red fish and grouper.

    • Prep Time
    • Minutes
    • Cook Time
    • Minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 lb whole red snapper, cleaned, scaled with head and tail remaining or 6-6oz fillets
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 TBSP lime juice
  • 5 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
  • 1/4 cup olive oil plus 3 TBSP
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1/4 tsp oregano
  • 1 cup pitted green olives
  • 1 TBSP thyme
  • 2 TBSP large capers
  • 2 jalapeños, seeded and cut into strips
  • salt to taste
  • 3 TBSP chopped parsley

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325. Place the whole fish or fish fillets in a baking dish. Prick the whole fish on both sides with a fork, rub in salt and lime. For fish fillets, simply squeeze lime juice and then salt on both sides of fish. Allow to marinate for 2-3 hours.
  2. Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large skillet. Fry the onion and garlic over low to medium heat until lightly browned. Add the seeded chopped tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients to the sauce. Cook the sauce over a medium to high heat for about 10 minutes. Stir continuously . Most of the pan juices should be evaporated.
  3. Pour the sauce over the whole fish or the fish fillets. Then drizzle the fish with about 3 TBSP olive oil.
  4. Loosely cover the baking dish and the fish with foil. Bake the whole fish for about 20 minutes then turn it over and continue baking for another 20-30 minutes until tender. Baste frequently with the sauce. For fish fillets, bake for about 15 minutes. It is not necessary to turn the fish filets. Check for doneness. Depending on the thickness and variety of the fish it may take a few minutes longer to cook. The fish should be flaky. Place the fish fillet on a plate, spoon some sauce over the fish, garnish with a little chopped parsley and serve. Great with arroz verde, green rice, or potatoes on the side
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