Snapper Escovitch

A Caribbean favorite, this light, tender and flaky fish is made with whole snapper, but you can also use fillets for ease. This recipe has a mellow spice to let the flavor of the fish shine through, but it’s open to adaptation: Feel free to add a little more hot pepper or allspice, if you like, for more intensity. If you’re in a hurry or low on spices, you can substitute Old Bay, jerk or Cajun seasoning blends for the spice mix in Step 1. Then, turn it into a sandwich (see Tip), paired with sweet plantain fries, or eat it as a light meal on its own. 

Ingredients

• 2

  teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

• 1

  teaspoon garlic powder

• ½

  teaspoon ground ginger

• 1

  teaspoon coarse kosher salt, plus more to taste

• 1

  teaspoon black pepper

• ½

  cup vegetable oil, plus more as needed

• 4

  (6-ounce) skin-on snapper fillets or 2 pounds whole red snapper 

• 1

  dry bay leaf

• ½

  teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

• 3

  small bell peppers (red, yellow, green or one of each), thinly sliced

• 1

  medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

• 1

  medium carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks

• 1

  Scotch bonnet chile, pierced

• 1

  tablespoon granulated sugar

• 1

  tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

• 1

  teaspoon allspice berries or pickling spice 

• 4

  garlic cloves, minced 

• ¾

  cup red wine vinegar

Preparation

1. Mix together 1 teaspoon thyme leaves, garlic powder, ginger, salt and pepper. Season the fish with the mixture.
2. In a large skillet over medium, heat oil until really hot but not smoking, about 3 to 5 minutes, and add the fish flesh-side down. Cook until the flesh gets a little color, about 5 minutes. Flip, then continue cooking until the skin is crisp. Remove fish and set aside on a serving platter. Drain oil, leaving about 2 to 3 tablespoons in the skillet.
3. Return the skillet to the stove. Add the bay leaf and fresh ginger, and sauté over medium heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
4. Add bell peppers, onion, carrots, Scotch bonnet chile, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, allspice and the remaining thyme leaves, and continue cooking, stirring, for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
5. Add vinegar, and stir to combine all the ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Let it simmer for about 2 minutes, until the vegetables soften but still retain bite, and spoon over fish. (Leave the allspice berries or pickling spice in the topping. Simply eat around them.)