Escoveitch Red Snapper Filet

By Chef Selwyn Richards
Culinary Columnist

Ingredients
3 pounds red snapper or tilapia filets (or fish of your choice)
2 or 3 limes
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons black pepper
About 1/2 cup oil for frying
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Sauce
1 tablespoon oil
2 or 3 Scotch bonnet peppers, stemmed, seeded and cut into thin rings*
1 red bell pepper, finely julienned
1 yellow bell pepper, finely julienned
1 green bell pepper, finely julienned
2 carrots, julienned (cut into thin strips)
1 small chocho (chayote), cut into thin strips (optional)
1 large onion, sliced into thin rings
1 cup white or cider vinegar
3 tablespoons tomato paste (or ketchup)
1/2 cup water
12 whole pimento seeds (allspice berries) (or 1 teaspoon ground allspice)
1 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of salt

*Be very careful; do not rub your eyes after handling the Scotch bonnet peppers and wash your hands well afterward.     

Method

Fish:
1. Rinse the fish with water and sprinkle generously with lime juice. Let sit for 20 minutes.
2. Pat fish dry and sprinkle each piece generously with salt, garlic powder and black pepper.
3. Pour the flour into a shallow bowl and dust each fish or filet lightly, shaking off excess. Set aside.
4. Heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a frying pan until hot (but not smoking) and fry fish until light golden brown and crispy (about 2 minutes per side).
5. Remove fish and drain on paper towels, then arrange in a single layer in glass or casserole dish (or on plates if you don’t plan to marinate the fish).
6. Discard the oil.

Sauce:
1.  In a non-reactive saucepan over medium heat, place a tablespoon of oil in the pan.
2.  Add the onions, sweet and hot peppers, carrots and chocho and sauté for 2 minutes.
3.  Add the vinegar, water, pimento, tomato paste, butter, sugar and salt
4.  Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables have softened. (You can remove the Scotch bonnet slices at this point or leave them in, whichever you prefer.)
5.  Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm, about 20 minutes
6.  Pour the marinade over the fish. (Make sure it’s not too hot or you will overcook the fish.)
7.  You can serve the dish immediately or allow it to marinate for a few hours to absorb the flavors, but serve it at or near room temperature.
8.  To serve, spoon the vegetables and sauce over the snapper, and accompany it with Bammy or Festival.
Serves 6. Enjoy!

Selwyn Richards is an award-winning master chef. He is also the President and Executive Chef at The Art of Catering Inc. and is the author of “The Art of Cooking: Soul of The Caribbean”. Chef Selwyn can be reached at: selwyn@theartofcatering.com or by phone — (905) 619-1059.