Cuban Whole Baked Fish
Submitted by happyzhangbo
A whole fish baked Cuban-style on a bed of sauteed onions and peppers, rubbed with a garlic-oregano paste and bathed in tomato puree, lime juice, and white wine. Feeds 6 in under 80 minutes.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
22 minCOOK
48 minREADY
78 minIn Cuban kitchens from Havana to Miami, a whole baked fish is how you feed the family on a Sunday or impress guests without breaking a sweat. The technique is straightforward, but the layers of flavor are anything but.
Score the fish, bathe it in fresh lime juice, then lay it on a bed of sauteed onions and peppers. A pounded garlic, salt, and oregano paste gets rubbed into every slit and stuffed inside the cavity. Tomato puree, white wine vinegar, and a generous pour of dry white wine make the braising liquid that keeps everything moist as it bakes.
After 45 minutes in the oven, the fish flakes at the touch of a fork, and those pan juices have reduced into a sauce you will want to spoon over everything on the plate.
Chef Tips
- Whole snapper is the classic choice, but striped bass, tilapia, or flounder all work. Ask your fishmonger to clean and scale the fish.
- Score the flesh deeply: those slits are not just decorative. They let the garlic paste penetrate and help the fish cook evenly.
- Use a mortar and pestle for the garlic-oregano paste if you can. A knife mince does not release the same oils and aromatics.
- Serve with mojo and rice: Cuban white rice and a side of mojo criollo (garlic-citrus sauce) are the traditional companions.
Variations
- Add sliced green olives and raisins to the baking dish for a sweeter, more complex pescado a la Veracruzana crossover.
- Swap white wine for beer: a light Cuban lager like Cristal or Bucanero adds a malty sweetness.
- Spice it up with a sliced Scotch bonnet pepper tucked into the cavity alongside the bay leaf.
Ingredients
Directions
Rinse the fish well under cold running water and pat dry on both sides as well as inside the cavity.
Make several slits about ⅓ inch deep on both sides of the fish.
Place the fish in a non-reactive shallow dish or platter and pour the lime juice over the fish.
Set aside while you continue with the preparations.
Preheat the oven to 375℉ (190℃).
Rub the bottom of a shallow glass or ceramic dish large enough to hold the fish with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
Sauté ½ of the onion slices and ½ of the pepper slices in 2 tablespoons olive oil and then place along the bottom of the baking dish .
Tear 2 of the bay leaves into small pieces and sprinkle over the vegetables.
Drizzle with 2 tablespoons more of the remaining Spanish olive oil and season with salt, black pepper, to taste, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Place the fish on top of the sliced vegetables.
Using a mortar and pestle, combine the garlic, kosher salt and oregano and mash to form a paste.
Spread the garlic paste inside the cavity of the fish and into the slits on top.
Place the remaining bay leaf inside the cavity of the fish.
In the same small bowl that you used to make the garlic paste, combine the tomato purée and vinegar and stir to combine.
Pour this tomato mixture all over the fish.
Top with the remaining onion and pepper slices and drizzle the remaining olive oil and the wine over the top.
Season again with salt and black pepper, cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil, and bake until the fish flakes easily when pierced with a fork, 45 to 50 minutes.
Garnish with the parsley and serve hot or warm, with the pan juices drizzled over all.
Comments
A grade meal