Veracruz Fish Chowder Recipes

VERACRUZ STYLE RED SNAPPER

Steps:

• Season the fish with salt, pepper and lime juice inside and out. Set aside.
• In a large ovenproof frying pan, heat the oil in on medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until transparent. Your frying pan has to be big enough to fit the fish. If you do not have a large enough oven-proof frying pan, then have a large baking dish ready to bake the fish there. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
• Stir in the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.
• Add the crushed tomatoes or chopped tomatoes to the frying pan and cook for about 8 minutes. Add the herbs. Keep cooking for 4 more minutes or until sauce is cooked.
• If using the dry white wine, add it while the tomatoes sauce is cooking.
• Before adding the red snapper, add the pickled jalapeños, raisins, olives and capers and cook until the flavors combine, about 4 minutes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.
• To bake the fish, add some sauce to the bottom of the baking dish, then place the fish and cover it with the rest of the sauce; bake for about 30 minutes or more. The fish meat should flake when you insert a fork. (If you want to cook it using the stove-top method, place the fish into the frying pan and cover with some of the sauce. Place a lid and simmer until fish is cooked.). The cooking time will depend on the size of the fish.

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 FISH SOUP

Steps:

• Place the tortillas in the bottom of the insert of a 5-7 quart slow cooker.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over med-high heat.
• Add the onion, garlic, jalapeno, bell peppers, cumin, and oregano and saute until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
• Deglaze the pan with the beer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
• Transfer the contents of the skillet to the slow cooker and stir to combine with the tortillas.
• Stir in the tomatoes and clam juice.
• Cover and cook on LOW for 4-5 hours.
• Stir in the fish, rice, and cilantro; cook for 1 hour, until the fish is cooked through.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

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.

LURE'S FISH SOUP

Steps:

• For the Lobster Stock: Steam lobsters for 5 to 6 minutes in a large pot with a few inches of boiling water until bright pink and meat is just cooked. Split lobster bodies in half. Chop vegetables into 1 to 2-inch pieces.
• In a deep pot, heat olive oil until very hot and add the halved lobster bodies. Saute until the lobster is caramelized to a golden brown, then and add the chopped vegetables. Cook and stir vegetables and lobster continuously for 5 to 6 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Remove meat from the lobster and set aside. Return the lobster shells to the pot, if desired, add the tomato paste and stir until combined. Add the vermouth carefully and cook until almost all the liquid is gone. Add 2 quarts of water to the pot and simmer for about 45 minutes. Strain solids and reserve the lobster stock.
• For the Fish Soup: Dice all vegetables into small uniform pieces and chop the garlic. In a large pot, lightly heat a small amount of olive oil. Place all vegetables and garlic into pot. Cook slowly for 10 to 15 minutes until all the vegetables are soft. Keep the heat low to avoid getting and color on the vegetables. Add the juice and orange zest, saffron and crushed red pepper (a small amount helps balance the soup, if a more spicy soup is desired, add more crushed pepper). Cook until the orange juice is almost gone. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until 1/2 the tomato liquid is gone. Pour the lobster stock over the vegetables and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and check for a good balance between sweet, salty and heat. Keep in mind the shellfish will add more salinity in the final steps.
• About 7 minutes before serving, place clams into soup. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add small chunks of whichever fish you have chosen to use. Simmer 2 minutes. Add shrimp and mussels and simmer until all the shellfish has opened (about 3 more minutes). At the last moment, add the cooked lobster and heat gently.
• Divide into 6 bowls, or serve family style at the table. The soup taste great with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and sea salt. The soup can easily be served as an appetizer or increased in quantity and served as an entree with warm crusty bread.

FISH CHOWDER

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Saute onions, mushrooms and celery in butter until tender.
• Add chicken stock and potatoes; simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add fish, and simmer another 10 minutes.
• Mix together clam juice and flour until smooth; stir into soup and simmer for 1 minute more. Season to taste with Old Bay seasoning, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat, and stir in evaporated milk. Top each bowl with crumbled bacon, if desired.