Huachinango a la Veracruzana (Veracruz Red Snapper)

(HARLINGEN) – It has been a cold January so far, and cabin fever may be kicking in. So to keep Veracruz Red Snapperadventure in these cold days, the Culinary Arts students at Texas State Technical College want to share a recipe they recently created and cooked for their International Cuisine course.

Enjoy!

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 3.3-pound whole red snapper, cleaned and scaled

For the marinade

  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 limes, juiced
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • Pinch clove
  • Pinch pepper
  • Vegetable oil, for sauteing
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 pinches dried oregano
  • 1/2 cup freshly made tomato puree (water, tomatoes and a dash of olive oil)
  • 4 plum tomatoes
  • 6 pickled chilies
  • 8 green olives, pitted and crushed, plus 12 green olives, whole
  • 1 tablespoon capers
  • Salt
  • 3 tablespoons chopped parsley

Directions

  1.  Clean the fish without cutting off the head or the tail. With a sharp knife, score the fleshy       part of the snapper.
  2.  In a bowl, combine the garlic, lime juice, water, clove and pepper to make the marinade.     Pour the marinade over the fish and allow the marinade to penetrate the snapper for 30        minutes.
  3.   Pour a tablespoon of oil into a hot pan and sear the fish for a few minutes on each side.   Add the chicken broth and begin to add the remaining ingredients.
  4.  First, add the sliced onion, bay leaves and oregano. Next, pour in the fresh tomato puree,   followed by the whole plum tomatoes. Add the pickled chilies, crushed olives and capers.
  5. Season with salt and continue simmering for 15 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle the whole olives and chopped parsley over the snapper and serve on a large dish.