71 replies to this topic

[Mabelline]

Not to get too far off topic, but one of my favorite munches with fresh hot torts is avocado slices, chile powder, and some lime juice.
(Or almost anything else )

[Robert Schonfeld]

Made a version of the fish dish last night, modified because there are no Key limes or fresh tomatoes within easy reach, and because I was cooking for one. So, I purchased a very thick single serving (about 8 ounces) of Chilean Sea Bass, almost a cube in shape. I used good canned tomatoes and supermarket limes. The sauce was a little tighter than I would have liked, but I am sure this is as a result of my practice of separating the tomatoes and their juice, then seeding, deveining and draining the tomatoes of any water, and then putting them back in their juice. Leaving the water in would have loosened the sauce. Nevertheless, how could onions, garlic, chile, capers, tomatoes, olives and oregano be bad? It was a rich and delicious dish. Hopefully, the shrimp tomorrow night to welcome Mazal home.

[Jaymes]

Having lived a life that called for quick and easy meals, often with impromptu dinner guests that my former husband would bring home ("Look who I found in the bar!"), I am the queen of fast meals.

Here's a version of pescado Veracruzano that you can have on your table in 15 minutes.

Buy a jar of Herdez salsa casera, either mild or medium. Buy a bag of frozen raw fish filets. Put your frozen fish filets onto a cookie sheet (the toaster oven is perfect for two). Dump your salsa over. Toss in a few olives. Bake in hot oven for 15-20 minutes or til done.

Equally good with salsa verde.

[Robert Schonfeld]

So I pureed the leftover sauce from the fish dish, mixed it with some of my own summer tomato sauce and a little ketchup. Added scallions, avocado & cucumber. Odd, but delicious with the shrimp.

Also made a huge pot of arroz con pollo, with a big piece of smoked sausage from the Hungarian on 81st and 2nd in NYC. Fusion. Good.

[mongo_jones]

change of plan--didn't like the smell of the fish once i defrosted it. into the trash they went, and the veracruzana plan has been pushed back to another day.

purchased a red snapper. if i can overcome laziness we will be eating it a la veracruzana tonight. but there is a good chance that we will succumb instead to the lure of reheated pizza while watching basketball. if so, tomorrow for lunch.

[mongo_jones]

pictorial report:

the fish marinating in lime juice and salt


sauce finished and ready to pour on fish


sauce on fish


fish out of oven 40 minutes later


ate with steamed rice, mashed sweet-potato/yam (roasted, mashed and seasoned with s/p and ground cinnamon). "improvized" a cold marinated scallop starter:

scallops lightly seared and diced, in a bowl with diced avocado, a little diced tomato and onions, minced chillies, salt, pepper and lots of lime juice. mixed and placed in fridge for a couple of hours


i'm sure this stuff isn't a classic match but we're not fussy. the fish came out really well--maybe a touch too much lime juice. it is a very simple dish (i didn't fry it before baking) and will be added to the regular rotation. i added the optional raisins and recommend them highly. i made a lot of sauce so didn't really need to baste the fish. the marinated scallops were also a big hit.

[Lippy]

I'm very far behind in the Mexican cooking project, but I plan to start catching up this week.

[Leslie]

Mongo, thank you so much for that step by step pictorial, very helpful.

Question for Cristina, Mongo, Lippy, Jaymes etc....

When you actually serve the whole fish, ie. for guests, and present it to the table, what is the recommended way to do it? Do you bring the finished dish w/ fish in whole, show to the table, then take back into the kitchen to debone the whole thing and put the fillets back in the sauce, or can one delicately serve pieces from the whole fish at the table w/o too much effort and mess? I am so clumsy with serving a whole fish (and thus usually buy fillets to avoid this dilemna if I have guests), I would like to get some extra details, please, as a fish served whole really does look elegant, but looks tricky to serve, especially with that sauce.

Recommendations on how to serve?

[Jaymes]

Golly, I guess now I'm curious as to what other people do. I've never thought about it much. I have a beautiful fish platter and I bring the whole thing out and set it on the table and we pass it around (actually, more like 'scoot') and everybody helps themselves, usually by scraping the meat off of the top. When that's all gone, I turn the thing over.

There's probably a better way, but that's always worked.

Now that I'm thinking about this, I've realized something else. My dinner parties are usually very casual affairs. There's always booze. The atmosphere is relaxed. I certainly have no 'staff' to help me by rushing in to clear the table and begin the cleanup. And I'm such a procrastinator that I put it off until the last possible moment. For one thing, I hate to break the mellow mood. So we invariably linger at the table laughing and talking and polishing off the wine or beer or Sangria or whatever we're having. The last of the fish is usually picked off, quite languidly and casually, by the fingers of the people that happen to be sitting in front of the platter.

And Mongo....your fish looks spectacular. Thank you so much for taking the time to post all about it, along with those wonderful photos.

Pescado Veracruzano is perhaps the most well-known and well-loved Mexican fish dish, along with ceviche. Anyone that is truly interested in Mexican cuisine is well-advised to learn how to prepare it.

[mongo_jones]

jaymes: the sauce to fish ratio isn't off?

leslie: like jaymes, i am not a fancy person. i bring the fish to the table and we have at it. i figure if people want to eat like at a fancy restaurant they can go to one. last night this is what we did: ran a knife under the head on one side. then ran the knife down the middle and again over the tail. the top side thus split easily into two long pieces, which we consumed last night. i then lifted the spine off and covered the fish up for consumption tonight. left the head for tonight as a treat: mmmm fish eyes...

[Jaymes]

jaymes: the sauce to fish ratio isn't off?

You made Cristina's recipe. So I'm not really sure how it should turn out. Actually, most of the recipes do call for baking, and I suspect you'd wind up with more liquid than if you cooked it stovetop in a skillet, as in the recipe I've always used.

As I simmer it, if the fish seems to be giving off too much liquid, I sometimes pour off a little. And after I remove the fish to the platter, I'll boil the liquid down a bit if it appears to be too 'soupy.'

It's been my experience when you get the dish in restaurants, you get a piece of fish with a rather thick sauce spread over.

Sorry to not be more specific. It's hard to tell from your photos, but it does look like yours came out 'saucier' than mine usually does.

We need Cristina to come back and comment.

[Scorched Palate]

Are we moving on to another project? I haven't gotten around to this one, yet, but I don't know if I will...

[Jaymes]

Are we moving on to another project? I haven't gotten around to this one, yet, but I don't know if I will...

Omni said back at the beginning that she wanted to do Yucatecan Lime Soup, so we're sorta on hold for that. Seems like it might be a good idea to do it while it's still cool enough to be 'soup weather.' But I don't know the status. Omni? Still want to?

Other possibilities Cristina and I have chatted about are enchiladas, tingas, chilaquiles...so many.

And desserts... I have several great recipes that call for cajeta, which is a wonderful ingredient to learn about. And there's Tres Leches cake (including a recipe that calls for cajeta), and flan of course.

Anyone have any thoughts?

[cristina]

Let's give Omni a day to answer. If we don't hear from her by some time on Wednesday, we'll make a decision about Mexican Cooking Project #5.

Sopa seca de fideos might be fun. Or...I have a fantastic recipe for green enchiladas with chicken. Or...or...or...

Keep those cards and letters coming in. We are wide open to everybody's suggestions and requests.

Cristina

[Leslie]

I'm a bit slow, but I'm doing my Snapper Veracruz tomorrow. Hopefully the coctel de camerones tomorrow, too. (hub was out of town 2 weeks in March and I wanted to wait until he was back to make it). I picked up everthing except for the snapper and prawns which I will get at Mutual Fish tomorrow.

The Lime soup sounds great. I can do that this week, too, if omni is ready to go ahead on that.

Let's see some recipes!