Title: RED SNAPPER A LA MEXICAINE
Categories: Fish
Yield: 6 servings
6 Fresh red snapper filets
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
Flour for dredging
4 T Olive oil
3 lg Shallots, finely minced
3 lg Garlic cloves, finely
-chopped
6 Ripe tomatoes, peeled,
-seeded & chopped
2 T Finely chopped fresh herbs
-(oregano, thyme & chervil)
1 Ripe avocado
1 t Lime juice
1 ds Tabasco
----------------------------------OPTIONAL----------------------------------
1 Beurre Manie*
1 T Tomato paste
----------------------------------GARNISH----------------------------------
Avocado slices
Lime slices
Fresh mint leaves
* Beurre Manie is used to thicken sauces. Combine 1 T flour and 1 T sweet
butter on a small flat plate and blend the mixture with a fork into a very
smooth paste. Roll the paste into a ball. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Season the fish filets with salt and pepper and dredge them lightly with
flour, shaking off the excess. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and
saute the filets over high heat for 2 or 3 minutes on each side. Remove
them carefully to a flameproof baking dish large enough to hold the fish in
one layer. In the same oil, saute the shallots and 2 cloves of garlic.
When the shallots are lightly browned, add the tomatoes and cook the
mixture for 2 minutes. Pour the mixture together with the herbs on top of
the fish and cover the disk with buttered wax paper. Bake in the oven for
25 to 30 minutes. While the fish is baking, mash the avocado in a small
mixing bowl, adding lime juice, salt, pepper, a little Tabasco, and the
remaining clove of garlic. Do not mash it too fine; it should have some
small chunks left in it. When the fish is ready, lift it out carefully onto
a platter. Place the baking dish over direct heat and reduce the juices by
1/3. If a Beurre Manie is used for thickening, add it bit by bit before
adding the avocado puree. Add the optional tomato paste. Lower the heat and
beat in the mashed avocado. Once the avocado puree has been added, do not
let the mixture come to a boil. Correct the seasoning and pour the sauce
over the fish. Garnish with avocado slices, lime slices and mint leaves.
