Recipe: Huachinango a la Veracruzana

While I was making the last huachinango dinner, I was told of a traditional preparation for this local fish: Huachinango a la Veracruzana. The whole fish is cooked in a spicy tomato sauce with olives. That was the only thing I knew about the dish but all I needed to know. This was really the dream meal for me at the moment, a simple mexican dish with flavors similar to those of Morocco. Tomato is simmered until sweet with aromatics, spiced mildly with jalapenos, and dotted with briny olives. Cooking the whole fish in the sauce allows the essence of the fish to spread throughout, harmonizing the flavors.

serves 2:

2 T olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 jalepeno, sliced
1 lb fresh tomatoes, chopped
1/2 c green olives, smashed and pitted
2 small red snappers, cleaned and trimmed
1 T chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in a pan that has a lid and is wide enough to fit the fish. Sweat onions, then add garlic and jalepeno and cook for one minute. Add tomatoes and a generous pinch of salt and simmer untill soft. Add olives and simmer a minute before giving it a stir and placing the fish in the sauce. Cover and cook about ten minutes on low. Serve fish whole with sauce and parsley.


-Kenny