You cannot visit Puerto Rico without running into a local restaurant or fishery and seeing fresh red snapper on display. The red snapper below was one of the inspirations for this dish. This beauty was on display at La Parrilla restaurant in Luquillo, Puerto Rico. After seeing this, We knew we had to make a dish using Red Snapper which leads me to my 2nd inspiration. While earning my culinary degree, My instructor Chef Global shared with me his recipe for Red Snapper Veracruz which I of course altered slightly and made it my own. Now we just had to go find some fresh red snapper. On an island that is filled with red snapper, we thought this should be an easy task….Boy were we wrong. Little did we know there was red snapper shortage on the north east side of the island which is a bit crazy…that is like a candy store being short on sugar. It just doesn’t happen. Luckily we did end up finding some fresh Red Snapper at a place called Alan’s Market in Guaynabo and thus we had the Star of the Dish and were able to prepare it for you. We hope you Enjoy!

Red Snapper Veracruz

This Fish is so very fresh that it literally falls apart when you bite into it. Its flakey texture and lightness pairs well with this extraordinary sauce. The garlic, cinnamon, jalapenos and tomatoes bring out a very unique blend of flavors. Combined with the fish and the rest of the ingredients this is a showstopper. We chose to lay this Red Snapper Veracruz on a bed of white basmati rice because in our opinion it elevates the dish one step higher!

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Ingredients

White Rice:

2 ½ cups of Jasmine Rice
4 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon of Lawry’s Garlic Salt
3 cups of water

Red Snapper Veracruz:

4 filets of red snapper (Can be substituted for Halibut or Bass)
½ tablespoon garlic salt (this will season both sides of each fish)
½ tablespoon McCormick Pepper (this will season both sides of each fish)
1 cup all-purpose flour (for dredging)
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup of onions (diced)
4 garlic cloves (minced)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh)
1 cup fish stock or chicken stock
1 large jalapeno (seeded & minced)
3 cups of tomatoes (diced)
10 queen pimento stuffed green olives (quartered)
1 teaspoon of sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
½ teaspoon of thyme (fresh)
½ teaspoon of marjoram (dried or fresh)
2 tablespoons of capers
¼ cup cilantro for garnish
1 lemon (quartered for garnish)

Instructions

Gather your ingredients
Preheat Oven to 170 degrees F
Put a 2 ½ quart pot w/ lid on stove (This is for your rice)
Put pot on high heat and place your 4 tablespoons of oil in the pot
Using a colander, fill with rice and rinse under running water until the water draining is clear
Place rinsed rice in hot pot. Then add your 3 cups of water and garlic salt.
Using chopsticks or a fork, stir all pot ingredients.
Now wait until it boils and then lower heat to low and let it simmer, with lid on. (At this point we can start on the red snapper!!!!)
Line a ½ baking sheet with parchment
Place your 4 filets on the parchment and season with garlic salt and pepper
Dredge your filets in a bowl of flour and remove any excess flour
Once you remove the excess flour from the filet, place it back on the parchment.
Put a large Sautee pan on the stove on medium high heat and add your olive oil.
When oil is hot, Saute the filets in the oil until done. About 3 minutes on each side.
Then change out the parchment paper on the baking sheet. Then remove fillets from Sautee pan and place back on baking sheet on the new parchment paper. Leave Sautee pan on heat
Place baking sheet in oven to keep warm.
Add your onions and garlic to the Sautee pan until tender.
Add lemon juice and let simmer. (this is called deglazing)
Add in your stock, jalapeno, tomatoes, olives, sugar, cinnamon, thyme, and marjoram into the Sautee pan and mix. Then simmer on low for about 10 minutes. (While waiting for sauce to simmer, lets shift over to the rice)
Remove lid from rice pan and gently fluff rice with chopsticks. (The idea is to make your rice flakey & fluffy.) Once fluffed, cover with lid and turn off heat.
Remove cinnamon sticks from Sautee pan.
Add Capers to Sautee pan.
Season to taste with garlic salt and pepper. This is to your taste. Always season as you go!!!
Remove filets from oven.
Place filets back in Sautee pan to reheat. Once heated, it is time to plate.
Start by getting a plate and laying a bed of rice.
Then place some sauce on the rice.
Now gently place your filet on the sauce. (Gently)
Spoon some more sauce onto the filet.
Finally garnish with cilantro and lemon. (Repeat steps 26-29 for all fillets) Enjoy!

Notes

If you are cutting the filets yourself, Always ensure you have a SHARP!! knife. The most dangerous thing in a kitchen is a dull knife. We actually started by removing the fins, cutting out the fillets by cutting against the bones and then removing the skin. You can save the fish leftovers for fish stock which is AMAZING, but a post for another time.
Important Tip: When buying fresh fish, Always trust your instincts. If something smells fishy Pun Intended"….There’s a good chance there is something wrong!! Always look into the eyes. If they are grey or foggy. Stay Away!! Do not Pass Go and Do not collect 200 dollars. That fish is bad!.

Red Snapper Vera Cruz