A s Zarela Martínez explains in her cookbook Zarela's Veracruz: Cooking and Culture in Mexico's Tropical Melting Pot, the food in the Mexican Gulf Coast state of Veracruz shows a stronger influence of Spanish colonization than perhaps any other part of Mexico. "In Veracruz...you are struck by the emphasis on olive oil, butter, sherry, capers, Mediterranean herbs, Moorish spice palettes, citrus fruits, sesame seeds, rice, almonds, olives, raisins, and even the local version of manchego cheese." The cuisine also reflects the state's role as "a major player in the malignant slaves/sugar/rum trade system operating between Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe."
The recipe for Red Snapper, Veracruz Style featured in this episode of our cooking video series includes indigenous Mexican ingredients such as tomatoes and hot peppers as well as Mediterranean olives, raisins, and capers. These ingredients—along with onion, garlic, and herbs—make up a thick cooked salsa Veracruzana that is spooned under and over the fish fillets, which are then baked. (As Chef de la Vega notes, although the recipe calls for canned tomatoes, if tomatoes are in season where you live, feel free to substitute fresh.) After it's cooked, the dish is topped with another hallmark ingredient of Veracruz's cuisine, pickled jalapeños.
Serve this healthy fish dish with rice and roasted white potatoes, as it's done in Veracruz.
Text by Megan O. Steintrager, illustrations by Matthew Brennan, photo by CIA/Keith Ferris
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