World Cup Salute to the Teams South of our Border

Yes, this is a cop out. I should really be doing something for Ghana. They deserve a salute. They really do. Their loss to Uruguay was nothing short of heart breaking. I tried really hard to find a Ghana recipe for today. I found several. Almost all had ingredients that aren't carried at Whole Foods. The others just didn't trip my trigger.  Someday I'll try one of the recipes for ground nut soup. Just not today.

After some research on Brazil, I saw some recipes that were "vera cruz style". Yes, Vera Cruz is in Mexico. But apparently it's style of making food has be somewhat adopted by some parts of South America. I understand why. I often make Fish Vera Cruz. It's a great weeknight meal. It goes together quickly and cooks in about 20 minutes. Pair it with couscous (you know my love of couscous) and you have a quick to the table, healthy, tasty dinner.

The ingredients: tomatoes, onion, capers, raisins, olives, Italian parsley, white fish - snapper, cod, etc.

First drain the tomatoes and reserve the juice.

Chop the onions and garlic. Here's my handy dandy tip for dicing an onion. 

First you make horizontal slices stopping short of the root end.

 Then make vertical slices.

Then just slice like you would normally. 

And viola, you have diced onion. Quick and easy. I learned this little trick one of the rare times I watched Rachel Ray. It makes dicing an onion quick and simple.

Add the onions and garlic to a frying pan with some olive oil. Cook for 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, some reserved juice oregano, bay leaves and Italian parsley. Simmer over medium heat  until it thickens slightly. About 3 minutes. 

While that is cooking chop your olives. Then add olives, capers, raisins and remaining tomato juice.

Simmer for another 3- 4 minutes. It will thicken again. Then spread a couple of spoons of the sauce over the bottom of a baking dish.

Lay your fish in on top. Notice I don't really worry if the fish doesn't exactly lay out flat. It's ok for the thinner parts to overlap a little. The recipe says to salt the fish. I don't. With the capers and olives, there is plenty of salt in this dish.

The pour the rest of of sauce over the whole thing. Put it in the oven at 425 for 18 minutes.

I like to serve it over couscous...of course. The fish is always tender and the sauce is fabulous. Each bite is a symphony of savory, salty and sweet.

Here is the original recipe. I've modified it some. I add more raisins and more oregano. I also don't cut the sauce even when I use less fish. 

Red Snapper, Veracruz Style

Bon Appétit  | May 2003

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice, well drained, juices reserved

1/4 c. olive oil

1/4 c. chopped white onion

3 large garlic cloves, chopped

3 small bay leaves

T.  chopped fresh parsley

1 t. dried Mexican oregano

1/4 c. chopped pitted green olives

2 T. raisins

2 T. drained capers

6 4- to 5-ounce red snapper fillets or other white fish

Place drained tomatoes in medium bowl. Using potato masher, crush tomatoes to coarse puree. Drain again, reserving juices.

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and stir 30 seconds. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds. Add tomato puree and cook 1 minute. Add bay leaves, parsley, oregano, and 1/4 cup reserved tomato juices. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 3 minutes. Add olives, raisins, capers, and all remaining reserved tomato juices. Simmer until sauce thickens again, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Spread 3 tablespoons sauce in bottom of 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange fish atop sauce. Sprinkle fish lightly with salt and pepper. Spoon remaining sauce over. Bake uncovered until fish is just opaque in center, about 18 minutes. Using long spatula, transfer fish with sauce to plates.