Finally, it’s spring and I’m abandoning winter stews, chilis and soups for lighter fare and fish is my preferred choice. The advent of spring always reminds me of fish and Lent.
My family took Lent seriously when I was growing up. My maternal grandfather Didunio, a Ukrainian Orthodox priest, fasted as required by Orthodox theology, not just in the forty days before Easter but on numerous other fasting days throughout the year. My maternal grandmother Babunia kept him company, and over their 65 years of marriage prepared meatless, dairy-less, eggless and even oil-less dishes, depending on the requirements of a particular Lenten week or fasting day.
So fresh fish, fish and vegetable soups, herring, legumes, grains, potatoes, other root vegetables, cabbage and rye bread were often on the spring menu. I don’t recall that Babunia went for days without eating, surviving only on tea or water as Didunio did, but I am sure that she followed the fasting menu even when Didunio did not eat on some days.
But in our nuclear family, Mama thought that strict fasting was unhealthy for children and adults who worked hard, so during Lent we ate smaller portions of meat and dairy products several days a week but on Fridays we had fish. Fish was a Friday bargain special in all Baltimore grocery stores since other denominations also followed the fish-on-Friday rule throughout the year.
Following Babunia’s cooking practice, Mama floured and fried fish in plenty of oil because grilling, baking, poaching, sautéing or steaming fish was not part of their repertoire. But when I discovered that fish could be prepared in ways that permitted tasting the fish without a floury coating, I became a convert to these other preparation methods.
When preparing my first spring fish dinner these days, I am usually drawn to Mexico’s vivid, citrusy flavors. In college, I discovered and often enjoyed Indian, Thai and Szechuan dishes. Each of these cuisines uses many of the same ingredients (tomatoes, chilis, cilantro, limes, garlic), but the Mexican combination of these flavors always lures me back. Over the years, I learned that I easily tire of bland food and must revive my taste buds with complex flavors and spiciness.
Until I started to travel to Mexico, I was exposed to only a tiny bit of Mexico’s vast regional cooking, much of it adapted to bland American tastes via southwestern tex-mex (tacos, burrito, moles, enchiladas, tostadas and fajitas). But on repeat trips to Mexico, I enjoyed similarly named dishes that tasted better when prepared in their native location with indigenous ingredients. I also learned to appreciate the variety of Mexican cooking, much of it not available in American restaurants.
Mexican fish preparations (seafood soups and stews, ceviche, fish tacos and tostadas) are diverse and delicious, incorporating assorted vegetables, herbs and spices that result in flavorsome and much lighter dishes.
Fish in the style of Veracruz, pescado a la veracruzana, featured in this post, is one of my favorite fish preparations and comes from the State of Veracruz that borders the Gulf of Mexico culturally and geographically. A look into Veracruz’s history explains this dish’s unusual blend of flavors.
In the early 16th Century, mesoamerican native cooks used indigenous ingredients such as: tomatoes, fish, beans, yucca, corn, peppers of various kinds, tropical fruits and flowers, onions, garlic and chocolate. When Spanish conquistador Hernándo Cortés Pizarro conquered this Mexican territory in 1519, his cooks brought ingredients discovered in Spanish conquests around the world that were unknown to Mexico — olives, olive oil, capers, parsley, thyme, bay laurel from Europe and cilantro, cumin, cinnamon, black peppercorns and clove from the Arabic empire (which at the time encompassed the Middle East, northern India, Afghanistan and Pakistan; in fact, the purpose of Spain’s conquering the New World was to find new spice routes). Spanish conquerors also planted strains of rice from Senegal-Gambia in West Africa and brought Afro-Cuban slaves to work the rice plantations.
Consequently, native kitchens along the Mexican shore of the Gulf of Mexico were influenced by Spanish and Afro-Caribbean cooking. And pescado a la veracruzana reflects the Creole culture of colonial Caribbean port towns like Havana, San Juan, Cartagena and even New Orleans.
Traditionally, this dish is made with red snapper (huachinango) whole or filleted and then it is called huachinango a la veracruzana. While originally a regional dish, it has become a country-wide favorite and has been exported abroad.
Fish Veracruzan style — Pescado a la Veracruzana
2 pounds (907 g) red snapper, cleaned, whole or filleted with skin (or other ocean fish such as cod, dorado, sea bass)
2 limes, zested and juiced
4 ounces (118 ml) canola oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
4 large plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
½ green pepper, seeded and cut into strips
½ red pepper, seeded and cut in strips
½ small yellow pepper, seeded and cut into strips
1 medium white onion, cut in half and sliced
½ cup pitted green olives, Manzanilla preferred, slightly crushed
1½ teaspoon capers
2 teaspoons Mexican oregano, dried
1 bay leaf, dried
1 cinnamon stick, small (about 2 inches)
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
¼ cup fish stock or clam juice
¼ cup dry white wine
3 pickled jalapeno peppers, cut into strips
Salt/pepper to taste
1 cup cooked rice
8 cooked tiny potatoes, such as fingerling
2 tablespoons Italian parsley or cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
Combine fish, lime juice, zest, salt and pepper in a large bowl. If cooking a whole fish, score each side in three places; no need to score fillets. Rub mixture into the cuts on the whole fish and cavity or rub mixture on both flesh and skin sides of fillets. Place fish into a non-reactive dish. Turn fish over to coat in remaining mixture and marinate for half hour in the refrigerator.
In a sauté pan or large frying pan, add 2 ounces (60 ml) of the oil and sauté until translucent. Then add garlic and fry for 2 minutes more. Add peppers, tomatoes, capers, spices and wine and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes. Turn off heat. Cover and keep warm.
Boil potatoes and keep warm. Cook white rice and keep warm.
In a separate frying pan, add remaining 2 ounces (60 ml) of oil. If preparing a whole fish: fry on one side for 4 minutes; turn over and fry on the other side for another 3-4 minutes. If preparing fillets: fry fish, skin side down on medium high heat for 4 minutes on one side. Then, without turning fish, cover pan and reduce heat and steam fish in accumulated juices for another 3 minutes. The cooking time depends on the thickness of the fish. Fish is cooked when internal temperature reaches 140 °F (60°C). Remove to a hot platter. Pour hot vegetable mixture over the fish, garnish with parsley or cilantro and serve with rice and a few fingerling potatoes, and slices of avocado.
Serves 2-4
One year ago:http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/spring-beet-salads-two-variations-on-a-theme/
Read more: Fish Veracruzan style — Pescado a la veracruzana