Snapper Escovitch

Living in a landlocked state in the middle of the U.S., it’s challenging to purchase fresh fish and seafood locally. And of course it should be. I can get some items frozen, which work, but sometimes I just have to place an online order for fresh fish, which is how I got my snapper.

The snapper came from from All Fresh Seafood, along with some other seafood goodies, with a greatly reduced overnight shipping cost. Never before have I cooked snapper, and it was nice to just order two filets instead of a 5-pound minimum. I made half the recipe.

The snapper recipe came from New York Times Cooking online, and was intrigued by it because I’ve never come across the word before. The recipe author is Millie Peartree.

From the author: “A Caribbean favorite, this light, tender and flaky fish is made with whole snapper, but you can also use fillets for ease. This recipe has a mellow spice to let the flavor of the fish shine through, but it’s open to adaptation: Feel free to add a little more hot pepper or allspice, if you like, for more intensity.”

I had to google escovitch, and this is definitely it. Pickled vegetables, still slightly crunchy, topping seasoned snapper, typically a whole snapper. It comes from the word escabeche in Spanish, which means pickled fish.

Snapper Escovitch

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil, plus more as needed (I started with just 2 tablespoons)
4 – 6-ounce, skin-on snapper fillets or 2 pounds whole red snapper
1 dry bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
3 small bell peppers (red, yellow, green or one of each), thinly sliced
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 Scotch bonnet chile, pierced
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon allspice berries or pickling spice (I used allspice berries so they could be picked out)
4 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup red wine vinegar (I used 1/4 cup)

Mix together 1 teaspoon thyme leaves, garlic powder, ginger, salt and pepper. Season the fish with the mixture.

In a large skillet over medium, heat oil until really hot but not smoking, about 3 to 5 minutes, and add the fish flesh-side down. Cook until the flesh gets a little color, about 5 minutes. Flip, then continue cooking until the skin is crisp. Remove fish and set aside on a serving platter. Drain oil, leaving about 2 to 3 tablespoons in the skillet.

Return the skillet to the stove. Add the bay leaf and fresh ginger, and sauté over medium heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add bell peppers, onion, carrots, Scotch bonnet chile, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, allspice and the remaining thyme leaves, and continue cooking, stirring, for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add vinegar, and stir to combine all the ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Let it simmer for about 2 minutes, until the vegetables soften but still retain bite, and spoon over fish.

Leave the allspice berries or pickling spice in the topping. Simply eat around them.

This dish was delicious. I love the slightly crunchy and pickled vegetables the most. You must love vinegar if you make this recipe, and I cut back greatly on the vinegar.