I’ve been eating out so much lately! Honestly, more than I’m proud of. So, I finally decided to get it together and cook a full meal like I used to. I’ve been missing my family a lot these days, so I wanted to make something comforting that reminds me of home, but that wouldn’t take me all night to do. Enter: escovitch fish!
Escovitch Fish is a staple in Jamaica and I actually learned how to make it directly from my grandma while we were in lock-down during the pandemic. We zoomed each other and she walked me through the entire process, which wasn’t as intimidating as I thought.
Escovitch fish is usually eaten with bammy, but I didn’t feel like taking on that hurdle, so I opted for fried dumplings and plantain.
Here’s a look at the recipe I used, so you can try it at home!
Ingredients:
- 2 whole red snapper or any white fish
- Salt and pepper
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Favorite all spice seasoning of choice (I decided to try the BoCa Flavor Taino Spice Blend)
- 1 lime or lemon
- Vegetable oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- 1 yellow medium onion thinly sliced
- 1 medium carrot Julienne (I went thicker, but I’d recommend a very thin slice)
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper thinly sliced
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 1 Scotch bonnet pepper – I couldn’t find any on my neighborhood, so I used cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- Red wine vinegar
- Freshly ground white pepper
Directions:
- Once the fish is cleaned and scaled, rub down with half of a lemon. Then season the inside and outside with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and all spice seasoning.
- Add enough vegetable oil to a pot that will cover one side of the fish. Heat oil until it is “well, well hot” as my grandma says. Once hot enough to fry the fish, add each to the oil and cook for 5 – 7 minutes on each side.
- Remove the fish and then drain about 3-4 tablespoons of the oil out.
- Add bay leaf, garlic, and ginger to the oil and cook for about a minute so they don’t burn.
- Add peppers, onions, thyme, scotch bonnet, your all-spice blend, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar, and stir together, mixing the flavors. Once the peppers and onions have begun to cook through, add vinegar, salt, and pepper to your taste preference.
- Discard the bay leaf and thyme, and then distributed the cooked peppers and onions over your fish.
- Serve with a side of fried dumplings and plantain.
