Sea Bass Veracruzana Food

SEA BASS VERACRUZ

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Combine tomatoes, olives, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, and capers together in a bowl. Place flour in a shallow bowl.
• Place fish on a flat work surface and season with salt and pepper. Dredge one side of each fillet in flour.
• Heat oil in a large, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish, flour-side down, and saute for 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Stir broth into skillet and scrape the bottom to deglaze. Add 1/2 the tomato mixture. Add onion, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme. Saute 3 minutes more. Nestle fillets into the skillet.
• Place skillet in the preheated oven and roast until fish flakes easily with a fork, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Remove and discard bay leaves. Add remaining tomato mixture to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Serve fillets topped with tomato mixture.

SEA BASS WITH ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Fill a medium pot with about 4 quarts water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add a generous handful of salt. (The water should taste like sea water.) When the water boils, add the asparagus and cook for 2 minutes. Drain with a slotted spoon or strainer and plunge into the ice bath. Remove to paper towels and pat dry. Set aside.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper. Add some oil and bring to lightly smoking, then place the fish in the skillet skin-side down. Cook until the skin is crispy, 6 to 7 minutes, then flip to the other side and cook for 3 to 4 minutes more. (If the skillet is getting too hot, reduce the heat.) Remove from the heat and top the skin side with the chopped herbs and salt.
• Mix the diced tomatoes with the drizzle of honey, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Remove some of the grease from the skillet. Add the shallots, salt and white wine to the skillet and bring to a boil. Add the butter and cook until the sauce thickens, then drop the dried asparagus into the sauce. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Toss to coat the asparagus.
• Place the lemon segments and tomatoes around each of 2 plates. Top with the asparagus, a spoonful of sauce and then the fish (skin-side up). Garnish with additional fresh herbs.

PESCADO A LA VERACRUZANA

Steps:

• In a medium pot, add the potatoes and cover with water. Cook potatoes until they're half cooked. About 10 minutes.
• In a large skillet or wide pot, add the oil and heat over medium-high heat.
• Add the peppers and onions and saute for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until soft and fragrant.
• Add the tomatoes, capers and olives and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add the dried herbs, fish stock and potatoes. Mix all ingredients well.
• Season with salt and pepper both sides of the fish.
• Add the fish to the skillet and cover with the sauce and vegetables. Cover with lid and cook for 10 minutes (or until fish is cooked through) over medium heat.
• Once the fish is cooked through, season with salt & pepper according taste.

SNAPPER VERACRUZANA

Steps:

• In a saucepot, add the oil, and start to cook the onions, garlic, bay leaves, and jalapeno. Cook for 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Then deglaze with the white wine. Add the tomatoes and fish stock, and cook for 15 minutes. Add the capers and olives cook for 5 minutes more.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Season the fish with salt and pepper. Put the red snapper in a roasting dish that holds it comfortably. Spoon the tomato sauce over the fish, and roast until the fish is cooked but moist, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Serve the fish garnished with parsley and 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.

FIESTA ROSA SEA BASS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Season fish inside and out with salt and pepper. Pour about 1 tablespoon of oil into a large roasting pan, reserving the rest of the oil. Lay the fish in the pan and holding the sliced side of the lemon half against your palm, squeeze the juice into the inside cavity of the fish. Stuff the inside cavity with shallots, cilantro, and the thyme. Slice the rest of the lemon and lay the slices on the top (outside surface) of the fish and drizzle the rest of the oil on the outside of the fish.
• Roast until internal temperature reaches 135 degrees F, about 20 minutes. (There will be some carryover cooking even after you remove fish from oven.)
• Let rest and transfer to a platter. Serve family style with whipped potatoes.

SEA BASS CRUDO

Steps:

• 1. Slice the sea bass as thinly as possible with a sharp knife, discarding the skin. Lay the slices on a cold serving plate, overlapping slightly.
• 2. Sprinkle the fish with the sliced chile, lime zest, cilantro leaves, and a generous pinch each of salt and pepper. Drizzle with the oil and lime juice just before serving.

STEAMED SEA BASS WITH VANILLA, BABY VEGETABLES AND CAPPUCCINO SAUCE

Steps:

• Remove the seeds from the vanilla pod and place both the seeds and pod on a plate with the lemon juice and olive oil. Mix up with a fork, then place the fish on the plate and turn it so both fillets are covered. Place the vanilla seeds and lemon leaf on top of the fillets, reserving the vanilla pod.
• Split the leeks down the middle, 1-inch from the end, and wash under cold water. Mix the peas, broad beans and new potatoes together.
• Put the milk into a saucepan with the reserved vanilla pod and slowly simmer over a medium heat. In a bamboo steamer* place the leeks on the bottom, then cover with the pea mix. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then place the steamer over the pan of milk. In a second bamboo steamer place the lemon leaf, and the fillets skin side up. Open up the score marks and pour over the juices from the plate. Place the lid on top and cook for 10 to 15 minutes on a slow simmer.
• Remove the steamers from the pan, place some vegetables on each plate, and top with the fish. To finish the sauce, remove the vanilla pod from the milk and whiz up with a cappuccino frother or 'whizzer', or in a liquidizer. This gives the sauce a thick cappuccino effect, which is both visually and texturally very nice.

SEA BASS WITH LEMON AND CAPER SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Season sea bass fillets with salt and pepper. In a saute pan, over high heat, add the olive oil and sear fish fillets skin side down first, for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Turn fish over and cook another 4 minutes or until cooked through.
• Meanwhile, prepare the croutons. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Toss with bread cubes and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake in oven for 4 minutes or until crisp and golden in color. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
• In another saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of butter. Over high heat, saute the baby vegetables until glazed. Divide into 2 and mound in center of plate. Keep warm.
• Add the remaining 2 ounces of butter to the fillets and baste them with the butter. Place a fillet and the red peppers on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle half of the croutons on top and around each fillet. To butter, add shallots and continue to cook until butter turns brown. Deglaze with lemon juice, and add the lemon pieces, parsley, chives, tarragon, capers, and caper berries. When heated, pour half over and around each fillet. Serve immediately.
• Note: if sea bass is not available, any firm white fish can be substituted.

WHOLE SEA BASS WITH CHARRED SERRANO-BASIL VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Place chiles, onion, garlic, mustard, vinegar and salt and pepper in a blender and blend until combined. With the motor running, slowly add the oil and blend until emulsified. Pour into a bowl and stir in the chopped basil.
• Heat grill to medium-high heat. Brush both sides of the fish with the oil and season each with 1 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper, including the cavity. Stuff the cavity of each fish with some of the basil. Grill each fish until slightly charred on 1 side, about 4 to 5 minutes. Using a heavy duty spatula, carefully turn the fish over, close the cover and continue grilling until just cooked through, about 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from the grill and immediately drizzle each fish with 2 tablespoons of vinaigrette.

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.