Mexican · Lunch · Dinner
Veracruz-Style Fish
Pescado a la veracruzana
Tender white fish fillets gently simmered in a bright tomato sauce with green olives, capers, pickled jalapeños and a hint of cinnamon and oregano. A light, colourful Gulf of Mexico classic that comes together in one pan.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Serves
- 4
Calories come from: Carbs 17% · Fat 29% · Protein 54%
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Ingredients
For 4 servings- 4 fillets (about 150 g each)White fish fillets (red snapper, cod or halibut), skinless
- 1 tbsp14 gOlive oil
- 1 medium110 gWhite onion, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves9 gGarlic, minced
- 5 medium600 gRipe tomatoes, chopped
- 1/3 cup45 gGreen olives, pitted and halved
- 1 tbsp9 gCapers, drained
- 2 tbsp20 gPickled jalapeños, sliced
- 2 leavesBay leaves
- 1 tspDried Mexican oregano
- 1 pinchGround cinnamon
- 1/4 cup60 gWater
- 1/2 tspSalt
- 1/4 tspBlack pepper, ground
- 2 tbsp8 gFresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 small60 gLime, cut into wedges (optional)
Steps
- 1
Pat the fish fillets dry and season both sides with half the salt and the black pepper.
- 2
Heat the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat.
- 3
Add the sliced onion and cook for about 5 minutes until soft and translucent.
- 4
Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- 5
Add the chopped tomatoes, water, bay leaves, oregano, cinnamon and the remaining salt.
- 6
Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the tomatoes break down into a chunky sauce.
- 7
Stir in the olives, capers and pickled jalapeños.
- 8
Nestle the fish fillets into the sauce and spoon some sauce over the top.
- 9
Cover and simmer gently for 8–10 minutes, until the fish flakes easily and reaches 63 °C / 145 °F in the thickest part.
- 10
Remove the bay leaves, scatter over the parsley and serve with lime wedges if using.
Swaps, storage and make-ahead
Swaps
- Use whole pickled güero or banana peppers instead of sliced pickled jalapeños for a milder heat that looks like the photo.
- Swap the fresh tomatoes for one 400 g can of diced tomatoes when good ripe tomatoes are out of season.
- Replace the white fish with large peeled shrimp, simmering them just 3 to 4 minutes until pink and opaque.
- For a vegan version, use thick slices of firm tofu or drained canned chickpeas in place of the fish, since every other ingredient is already plant-based.
Storage
Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container within 2 hours and eat within 3 to 4 days, reheating gently until steaming hot. The sauce freezes well on its own, but the cooked fish turns soft and dry, so it is best eaten fresh rather than frozen.
Make ahead
Make the tomato sauce with the olives, capers and jalapeños up to 3 days ahead and keep it in the fridge. When ready to eat, bring it to a simmer and cook the fish in it fresh.
Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.
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Allergens and nutrition
Contains: Fish
Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.
Full nutrition
| Per serving (370 g) | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 241 kcal | 65 kcal |
| Protein | 32.8 g | 8.9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 10 g | 2.7 g |
| of which sugars | 5.8 g | 1.6 g |
| Fiber | 3 g | 0.8 g |
| Fat | 7.7 g | 2.1 g |
| of which saturated | 1.2 g | 0.3 g |
| Sodium | 709 mg | 192 mg |
Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.
