How to keep up a seafood diet - Pescado a la Veracruzana

Published in the Pacific Pearl magazine may 2024

Mazatlan is a city where seafood and fish are on almost every menu. But once you’re home, it can be tough to keep up this famous ‘Seafood diet’. The Seafood diet is hailed as an essential component for a healthy lifestyle. But where to start? At Mazatlan’s fish shops there has been an abundance of Curvina (seabass) lately, which is great to make Veracruz-style fish. If you can’t find seabass, you can use red snapper instead.
So what is Pescado a la Veracruzana? It’s a fusion of native Mexican peppers and tomatoes with unmistakable Spanish capers and olives. During the Spanish rule between 1621 and 1810, Veracruz was the main port between Mexico and Spain. Pescado a la Veracruzana is known to be a Mexican adaptation to the Basque Pescado a la Vizcaina and it was created as a meat-free dish during Lent.
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INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
½ onion, diced
1 kilo tomatoes, chopped
1 bell pepper, cut in strips
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon oregano
75 gr (2.5 oz) green olives, chopped
60 gr (2 oz) capers
6 seabass fillets (125gr or 4.5 oz each)
2 tablespoons butter
Optional: pickled chili, for serving
 
PREPARATION:
Heat the oil in a big skillet and sauté the garlic and onion for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add the bell pepper and sauté for another 2 minutes while stirring. Season with salt and pepper, add the bay leaves and oregano and simmer for 8 minutes on a low heat. Then add the capers and olives and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. If needed, add salt and pepper and remove from the heat
Heat the oven at 190°C (375°F) about 20 minutes before serving. Rinse the fish fillets, pat dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the fillets until light brown on both sides. Place the fish fillets in a greased oven dish, serve the tomato sauce on top and cover with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Decorate with pickled chili strips before serving. This dish is served with cooked white rice.
Note: you can also use a whole seabass or snapper, but then you need to extend the baking time.

Buen provecho! Enjoy your meal!