Tilapiasnapper Vera Cruz Style Recipes

ABUELO'S TILAPIA VERACRUZ

Steps:

• Season 2 Tilapia filets with Lawry's seasoned salt.
• Place 1 tablespoon clarified butter in sauté pan.
• Preheat pan over medium flame.
• Place Tilapia filets in sauté pan with the skin side facing up.
• Sauté for 1 minute.
• Turn filets and place in oven at 400F for 2 minutes to finish.
• Prepare Veracruz sauce and ladle sauce over fish, leaving the ends of the fish exposed.
• For the sauce:.
• Heat butter over medium heat.
• Add garlic, scallops and shrimp.
• Saute for 1 minute.
• Add tomatoes, poblano strips and seasoning. Continue cooking for 30 seconds.
• Add white wine to mixture and reduce.
• Add Bloody Mary Mix, chile guero and olives. Continue cooking for 1 minute.
• Remove from flame and pour over fish.
• Note: Make sure the edges of the fish are not covered with sauce. Sauce should be bright and loose, not thick and dry.

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.

VERACRUZ-STYLE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a medium stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add whole garlic cloves, and cook, stirring, until golden on all sides. Remove garlic and discard. Add minced garlic and the onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced, about 15 minutes.
• Add olives, chiles, capers, bay leaves, parsley, thyme, marjoram, oregano, salt, canela, and wine. Cook until the sauce has thickened to desired consistency, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and adjust for seasoning. If using fresh whole herbs, remove and discard before serving.

TILAPIA/SNAPPER VERA CRUZ STYLE

Steps:

• 1. Add oil to large skillet and pre-heat. Salt and pepper the filets and place in heated pan and lightly saute on both sides. Place the filets in a oiled oven dish and set aside.
• 2. Chop the onion and add to the pan used to cook the fish and cook on medium heat.
• 3. Add the minced garlic and chopped peppers to the pan and cook for approximately 5-8 minutes.
• 4. Add the tomatoes,oregano,bay leaves,salt,chili powder and pepper to the pan and bring to a boil. Then reduce and simmmer for 10 minutes
• 5. Add the chopped olives and drained capers and simmer for 5 minutes.
• 6. Pour the tomato/pepper mixture on top of the fish filets and cook in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes
• 7. Serve hot and add your favorite cheese if desired

VERACRUZ-STYLE TILAPIA ("PESCADO A LA VERACRUZANA")

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the fish fillets on both sides with salt and black pepper, to taste. Saute the fillets until they are opaque and just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the fish to a glass baking dish where they fit snugly.
• In the same saute pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, Anaheim chile, bay leaf and oregano and bring the pan to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and let the sauce simmer until the chiles soften, about 6 minutes. Uncover the pan, add the olives and capers, and cook until the flavors combine, about 4 minutes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Pour the sauce over the fish in the baking dish. Bake until the fish is heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven, discard the bay leaf and serve.

FISH VERA CRUZ

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, boil the tomatoes, jalapenos, oregano, and garlic salt for about 8 minutes, or until tomatoes have cooked down to a liquid. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. *Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Return sauce to pan, add chopped onion and cilantro, and stir well. Heat through and keep warm until ready to serve.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat (you can use as little as 2 tablespoons oil to up to 1/2-inch deep). Season fish with salt and pepper and then carefully place in the pan; this may require adding the fish in 2 batches if your skillet is not large enough to hold all 4 fillets. Saute or pan-fry the fish until cooked on 1 side (fish will be opaque on that side). Carefully flip fish and continue cooking until cooked on second side and cooked through in the middle; the fish should be opaque in the middle. Cooking time will vary based on thickness of the fish fillets and the type of fish, but it should not take more than 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Transfer fish onto a serving platter or each of 4 dinner plates and top with the sauce. Serve immediately.

SNAPPER VERA CRUZ

Steps:

• In a medium skillet, preheat the olive oil over medium heat. Season the snapper fillets with salt and pepper on both sides. Add the snapper fillets and sear them with skin up. Add all remaining ingredients except the brandy, cheddar cheese, and butter. Simmer for approximately 2 minutes, turning the snapper over after it reaches a nice golden brown color. Add the brandy to the skillet and top the snapper with the cheese. Cover for 1 minute to melt the cheese. Remove the snapper from the skillet and set aside. Finish the sauce by slowly stirring in the butter. Place 2 snapper fillets on each plate and top the plated snapper with the sauce.

SNAPPER VERA CRUZ

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C.
• Saute onion 5 minutes in EVOO until soft, add garlic and cook 1 more minute.
• Stir in tomatoes, chilies and cilantro and cook about 10 minutes until thickened.
• Arrange fillets in baking dish, sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika and cover with sauce.
• Top with capers and cover with foil.
• Bake 20 minutes.

RED SNAPPER VERA CRUZ

Steps:

• In a large skillet, saute onion in oil until onion is tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add the tomatoes, olives, jalapenos, capers, bay leaf, salt, oregano and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes or until sauce is reduced by half. Remove from the heat; discard bay leaf. Keep warm., Sprinkle fillets with lime juice, salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Place flour in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, whisk eggs and milk. Drain and discard lime juice. Coat fillets with flour, then dip in egg mixture., In a large skillet, fry fillets in butter and oil for 8-10 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve with sauce.

SNAPPER VERACRUZ

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add green pepper, onion, and garlic, and cook until pepper is soft, about 5 minutes. Mix in the white pepper, cinnamon, lime juice, olives, and chiles; cook for 2 more minutes, to blend the flavors. Stir in the tomatoes, and cook until thickened, about 10 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place the snapper filets into a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour the tomato sauce over the filets, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Stir in the capers just before serving.