PESCADO A LA TALLA (RED AND GREEN GRILLED RED SNAPPER)
Serves: 4-6
Safflower oil
1 whole red snapper, butterflied, or 4 (8 oz/230 g) boneless red snapper fillets, with skin on
Sea salt
1 cup (250 mL) adobo de chiles rojos (see recipe) 12 (6-inch/15-cm) corn tortillas, warmed
Refried beans, warmed
Red salsa of your choosing Green salsa of your choosing Lime wedges
Green sauce:
4 garlic cloves
2 cups (500 mL) parsley leaves 1/2 cup (125 mL) safflower oil Pinch of ground cumin
1 tsp (5 mL) sea salt
1. For the green sauce: Place the garlic, parsley, oil, cumin and salt in the jar of a blender and purée until smooth.
2. Once you are ready to cook your fish, heat a grill to medium or a grill pan over medium heat. Brush the cooking surface with oil so that the fish won’t stick.
3. Clean your fish well, then pat it dry. Using a sharp knife, crosshatch the flesh on the diagonal, making cuts about 1/2 inch
(1.25 cm) deep and 1 inch
(2.5 cm) apart. Sprinkle with salt.
4. If using fillets, spread two of them with 1/2 cup (125 mL) of the adobo de chiles rojos each and the other two with 1/2 cup (125 mL) of the green sauce, being careful to coat the entire surface and get the sauce into the cross-hatched knife marks. 5. If using a butterflied whole fish, spread the adobo de chiles rojos on one half of the fish and the green sauce on the other half, carefully covering the whole surface area and working the sauce into the knife marks. 6. Grill the fish, skin-side down, until it’s almost cooked through, 7-10 minutes.
7. Using a spatula, carefully flip it over and cook the flesh side until it has char marks and easily releases from the grill or pan. Place it flesh-side up on a platter or onto individual plates.
8. Serve with the warm tortillas, a bowl of refried black beans, whatever salsa you wish and wedges of lime.
ADOBO DE CHILES ROJOS (RED CHILI RUB)
4 cascabel chilies, stemmed and seeded
1 ancho chili, stemmed and seeded
1 guajillo chili, stemmed and seeded
1 pasilla chili, stemmed and seeded
2 chiles de árbol, stemmed, seeded and veins removed (or not, depending on how spicy you want this to be)
4 Roma tomatoes, cored
1/4 white onion
5 garlic cloves
2 cloves
1/2 cup (125 mL) safflower oil 2 tbsp (30 mL) freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tsp (5 mL) ground achiote (annatto) seeds
Pinch of ground cumin
Pinch of dried oregano
1 1/2 tbsp (22 mL) sea salt, plus more as needed
1. Place the cascabel, ancho, guajillo and pasilla chilies in a saucepan and cover with 1 cup (250 mL) water over low heat. 2. Bring to a simmer and then remove from the heat, cover the pan and let the chilies soak and soften for 15 minutes.
3. In the jar of a blender, blend the chilies with their soaking water, the chiles de árbol, tomatoes, onion, garlic, cloves, oil, orange juice, lime juice, achiote seeds, cumin, oregano and salt, puréeing until smooth. Taste and add more salt to taste if needed.
4. This sauce can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months.