Turkey A La Veracruz Recipes

VERACRUZ SAUCE (FOR FISH OR CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Warm oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute garlic briefly to release its flavor.
• Add tomatoes and onions and cook over low heat until tomatoes soften, about 20 minutes.
• Add jalapeño, olives, oregano, capers, water, and salt, to taste. Simmer for an additional 20 minutes.
• Serve Veracruz Sauce over grilled or pan-fried white fish or chicken breast. Accompany this with white rice , if you like.
• Use one whole red snapper of about 3 pounds or two pounds of snapper filets. If using the whole snapper, clean it and remove the scales, but leave the head and tail on for presentation.
• Prick the fish with a fork on both sides.
• Lay the fish (or the filets) in a single layer in a shallow baking dish. Whisk together 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice, a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, and 2 cloves (diced) of garlic. Pour this marinade over the snapper and refrigerate for about an hour.
• Make Veracruz Sauce (above), but reduce garlic to only 2 or 3 cloves. Simmer sauce for only about 5 minutes after adding jalapeños and other ingredients, as it will finish cooking in the oven.
• Cover the fish with the sauce and bake in a 300 F (150 C) oven for about 30 minutes, turning once.

TURKEY à LA KING

Steps:

• Make a roux. In a small saucepan set over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter. When it begins to foam, sprinkle the flour over it, and whisk to combine, then continue whisking until it begins to turn the color of straw, approximately 7-10 minutes.
• Slowly add 1 cup of the turkey stock to this mixture, and stir to combine. Add more stock to thin the sauce. Keep warm.
• Set a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, and add to it the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. When it begins to foam, add the mushrooms, and cook, until the mushrooms have released their moisture and begun to get glossy and soft, approximately 7-10 minutes. Add the turkey, then the warm sauce and cream, and stir to combine. Add the peas, then cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is hot and has thickened slightly, approximately 7-10 minutes.
• Stir in the sherry, adjust seasonings and serve over biscuits or toast, rice or buttered noodles, garnished with the parsley.

TURKEY A LA VERACRUZ

Steps:

• Cut turkey into 1/2" cubes.
• Heat oil in skillet and saute onion until tender.
• Add turkey, garlic, olives, tomatoes, chicken stock, pepper flakes and lemon juice.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Serve over hot rice.

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.

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.

HALIBUT VERACRUZ

Steps:

• Place tomatoes on a large rimmed baking sheet; bake at 450°F for 20 minutes.
• Turn tomatoes; bake 20 more minutes or until skins are blistered and lightly browned.
• Pulse tomatoes and pan juices in a food processor until roughly chopped.
• Sauté onion in 2 tablespoons hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 3 minutes or until tender.
• Add garlic and serrano; sauté 15 seconds; adding olives, capers, and chopped tomatoes; bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat; stir in oregano.
• Sprinkle halibut with salt and pepper.
• Melt butter with remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add halibut; cook 5 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
• Serve with sauce, fluffy white rice and a green vegetable.