Veracruz Style Steelhead or Salmon
Veracruz-style steelhead trout's mild butteriness combines beautifully with this tart, slightly sweet and spicy sauce. Magical ingredients like pickled Jalapeños and green olives flavor the fish and combine with tomatoes for a beautiful color pop. Great for company!
Servings 4 servings
Ingredients
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced small
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 cups tomatoes seeded and diced (or one can of diced tomatoes, reserve liquid)
- 10-15 green olives halved if large
- 3-4 pickled jalapeño peppers sliced
- 2 teaspoons capers
- ½ teaspoon salt see note
- 2 bay leaves
- several sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 pound of steelhead trout cut into 3 or 4 fillets
- 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oil in ovenproof skillet and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Add onion and saute until onion turns slightly yellow, 4-5 minutes.
- Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute more.
- Add the tomatoes and simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Use a potato masher to partly puree the tomatoes and the onions.
- Stir in the olives, pickled jalapeños, capers, broth and seasonings except for the parsley. If you want extra sauce, add the reserved juice from the tomatoes. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Place the trout fillets into the sauce and let them simmer for about 5 minutes until done on the bottom.
- Gently turn the fillets, spooning sauce on top. Place in the preheated oven for 5-10 minutes more until the fillets are as done as you prefer. At high altitude, you may wish to cover the skillet to be sure the fish is done.
- When the fish is cooked to your desired doneness, remove from the oven, transfer the fish to a plate, spoon extra sauce over the top, sprinkle the parsley on, and serve.
Notes
The recipe calls for a small amount of salt, since other ingredients are fairly salty. Have a good-quality salt on the table, like Himalayan Pink Salt or Maldon Salt, for guests who want to add more.