You can't always get what you want: Veracruz style, red snapper FILLETs

Ragazzi,  since Annalena has gotten into the habit of writing cryptic titles, she will explain the above.
Last week, she dutifully went to her farmers market to pick up fish for dinner on Tuesday.  Unfortunately, the Karlin clan was not in evidence that week.  "No problem, " she thought,  "I'll pick up a whole fish from the market across the street from work."  See, Annalena is favored by working across the street from Grand Central, where there is a market graced by not one, but TWO fish markets. And she had it in her mind to cook a whole fish .

Three visits, turned up no whole fish. And this is indeed something one has to expect, when  you buy fish on a Monday. See, most boats do not go "out" on the weekend, so selections are limited.  Also, many suppliers, will not ship on the weekend.  Fish is delicate, one slip up along the way, and instead of delicious fish, you have rotting cat food.  So, do keep that in mind when you shop for fish:  on Mondays, prepare to settle.

Looking at what was available, Annalena found some red snapper fillets.  Now, these are not local, for sure, but given the situation, she did with what she could (keep in mind that she had two pounds of frozen shrimp in the freezer which she had forgotten about.  Welcome to the ravages of age).  A substantial sum later, Annalena had a pound of these stashed away in her work refrigerator.

Ok, now what to do with them?  Well, hmmmm.  As it happened, Annalena had just gotten a box of goodies from Kim, the citrus bomb, which included her annual supply of Seville oranges.  Some of you may know these as marmalade oranges:  they are bitter, with very large seeds, and not at all something you can eat for a lunch fruit (as the Guyman once learned when Annalena accidentally put one in his lunch bag - and it WAS an accident.  She wasn't angry at him that morning).    They make superb marmalade, and they have other uses:  as in Snapper Veracruz style.

Except that dish calls for a whole fish.   So... working with what she had, Annalena adapted.  And know what?  This is good.  This is really, REALLY good.  Make it.  If you don't have red snapper, using something like black bass fillets - something in the bass or grouper family will work.  Look for something with firm white flesh, and edible skin.  Stay away from striped bass which is really a bit too strong for this preparation.  And if you don't have the bitter oranges (which you SHOULD be able to find..), you can substitute lime juice.  Ok, here we go.

Get enough juice from the oranges or the limes, to measure a half cup (and after you squeeze half a cup of lime juice, you WILL look for those oranges.  Trust Annalena on this).  You also need  some chili powder (we'll use it in two places here), chopped onions to measure a cup, a couple of cloves of minced garlic, a can (15 ounces here), of whole tomatoes, drained of the juice, and cilantro.  If you don't care for cilantro, well.. .in this case, make something else.  It's necessary to the flavor here. 

Rub your snapper fillets with salt, pepper, and about a teaspoon of chili powder, whatever level of heat you like.  Put them, skin side down , in a shallow bowl, and pour the orange or lime juice over them, and let them sit while you prep the rest of your food.  (if you think of it, turn the fillets every now and then).

Put two tablespoons of olive oil in a nonstick pan (to do this authentically, you would use lard, but you won't, so use the olive oil), and add a cup of minced onions.  Cook them over medium heat until they begin to soften, and then add a hefty tablespoon of minced garlic.  Cook this all for another minute.  Now, add about a  half cup of chopped fresh cilantro, the tomatoes, and another teaspoon of chili powder.  Mix this all together, lower the heat, and let it cook for about ten minutes.

After that's done, take the fish and put it, skin side down, right on top of the sauce.  Lower the heat, cover the pan, and let it cook for about ten minutes.  You may need less time if your fillets are very thin.  You can check the fish by slipping a small knife into a fillet at the center, and determining if it's cooked through. 

When it is, move each fillet to a plate CAREFULLY (use a flipper for this), and then spoon some of the sauce on top. Finish it up, if you like, with some more fresh cilantro.  Again, even non-cilantro likers seem to like it, in this dish.  And if you are so inclined, squeeze some more seville orange juice over this.

You can have  your dinner in about 30 minutes, and you won't even miss the absence of the fish head or the spine, or the tail.  So,  perhaps this is for those of you out there, who go EWWWWW at the thought of dealing with a fish head.

Next time around:  remember those shrimp Annalena mentioned up top? Well, we're going to bring spring into the home, in the depths of winter, with a lemony pasta dish that has the earmarks... of spring.