Fish Vera Cruz

Off to Mexico for dinner tonight with a colourful tomato and fish dish.

I got some nice schnapper and decided to make Pescado a la Veracruzana (fish Vera Cruz). It is an easy dish. Simply fry some onion until translucent then add a can of diced tomatoes and cook until it is a sauce-like consistency. Cut your fish into bite sized pieces and layer them in a buttered casserole dish with some capers, sliced pimento, pickled jalapeno peppers, and the tomato sauce. Cook in a moderate oven for twenty minutes, add some olives and cook for a further ten minutes.

After you add the olives, dry fry some sliced almonds in a non-stick pan until crisp. Set aside.

For the rice, mix some Annatto paste with some chicken stock and tomato paste. Pour over cooked rice and mix well.

When serving, sprinkle some of the crispy sliced almonds over the fish to give a crunch in the dish.