Escoveitch Fish with Sweet and Spicy Pineapple Pickle
Ingredients:
• 5 Rainforest Whole Fish
• 2 teaspoons of salt (or to taste)
• 1½ teaspoon black pepper
• Enough oil to fry
For the pickle
• 1 cup vinegar
• 4 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons pimento berries
• 3 Scotch bonnet peppers sliced
• ½ cup sliced onions
• ½ cup sliced carrots
• ½ cup sliced pineapples (fresh)
Method:
1. Start by making the pickle. Dissolve salt and sugar in the vinegar.
2. Add allspice berries and the sliced Scotch bonnet peppers.
3. Thinly slice the onions into rings, thinly slice the carrots into long strips, additionally peel and slice the pineapples into long strips.
4. Add onions, carrots and pineapple to the mixture, give it a good stir, cover, and set aside.
5. Clean and scale the fish, removing all fins and tails for ease of frying.
6. Pat dry the fish and cut along the flesh on both sides (two cuts for larger fish).
7. Mix the salt and black pepper, and season the fish with this mix in the cuts, in the belly, and in the head of the fish.
8. In a wide frying pan heat oil until it is smoking hot. Add 1 or 2 fish, and fry approximately 2-3 minutes per side (larger fish 3-4 minutes). Once it is golden brown it’s ready to flip.
9. Set aside on a rack to cool and rest.
10 Once all the fish are fried place them on a platter, using tongs or a fork, remove the pineapples, onions, peppers, and carrots, and sprinkle over top. Spoon out some of the vinegar juice over top of the fish, and serve the vinegar pickle liquid on the side.
Fry Fish Tips:
• Very Hot oil fries the fish quickly, resulting in a tender yet crispy fish that is not oily. Oil that is not hot enough, will take too long to fry the fish, resulting in a fish that is overcooked and oily.
• Refrain from crowding the pan, you want to maintain hot oil, so fry 1 to 2 fish at a time.
• Do not pour the pickle liquid in its entirety over the finished fish, you will lose the crunch, instead, top the fish with the onions, etc. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of the pickle over the fish, and add additional pickle juice while you eat the fish if needed.