**Veracruz-Style Sauce: A Symphony of Mexican Flavors**
Originating from the vibrant coastal state of Veracruz, Mexico, Veracruz-style sauce is a culinary delight that captures the essence of Mexican cuisine. This versatile sauce is a symphony of flavors, blending tangy, spicy, and smoky notes with a touch of sweetness. It is traditionally made with fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, and a blend of spices, including cumin, oregano, and chipotle peppers. The sauce can be used as a marinade for meats, a topping for tacos and enchiladas, or simply as a condiment to add a zesty kick to any dish.
This article presents a collection of mouthwatering Veracruz-style sauce recipes, each offering a unique take on this classic sauce. From the traditional tomato-based sauce to variations featuring roasted peppers, pineapple, or smoky chipotle peppers, these recipes cater to diverse tastes and preferences. Whether you're a seasoned home cook or just starting your culinary journey, this article provides the inspiration and guidance you need to create authentic and flavorful Veracruz-style sauces that will tantalize your taste buds. So, get ready to embark on a culinary adventure and discover the vibrant flavors of Veracruz, Mexico.
**Recipes included in the article:**
* Classic Veracruz-Style Sauce: This recipe provides a step-by-step guide to making the traditional Veracruz-style sauce using fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, and a blend of spices.
* Roasted Red Pepper Veracruz Sauce: This variation incorporates roasted red peppers for a smoky and slightly sweet flavor profile.
* Pineapple Veracruz Sauce: This unique recipe adds pineapple to the sauce, creating a tangy and tropical twist.
* Chipotle Veracruz Sauce: This recipe features the smoky heat of chipotle peppers for a spicy and flavorful sauce.
* Salsa Verde Veracruz: This green version of Veracruz-style sauce is made with tomatillos, green chiles, and cilantro, resulting in a bright and herbaceous sauce.
Each recipe includes detailed instructions, cooking tips, and ingredient suggestions to help you create delicious and authentic Veracruz-style sauces that will elevate your culinary creations.
PORK CHOPS IN VERACRUZ SAUCE
Give your weeknight chops a flavor boost with some Veracruz zing! Boneless loin chops simmer in a lively combo of onions, tomatoes, garlic, and fresh herbs, yielding beautiful color and delicious flavor. Sauteed zucchini and steamed rice are excellent dinner sides for this tasty dish.
Provided by Bibi
Categories World Cuisine Recipes Latin American Mexican
Time 55m
Yield 4
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Use a paper towel to pat pork chops dry and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Heat olive oil and butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until butter is melted and oil is shimmering. Carefully add pork chops and cook until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Add onion slices to the same skillet. Saute, stirring frequently, until onion softens, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and stir for about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, olives, capers, jalapeno strips, bay leaves, thyme, and oregano. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
- Nestle chops into the vegetable mixture and cover. Reduce heat and simmer until no longer pink in the center, about 12 minutes. Place chops on a serving plate and increase heat to medium-high. Discard bay leaves and herb sprigs. Cook until liquid is reduced and thickened, about 3 minutes.
- Spoon vegetables and sauce over chops. Garnish with cilantro. Squeeze lime juice over all. Serve warm.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 413.6 calories, Carbohydrate 10 g, Cholesterol 93.9 mg, Fat 26.1 g, Fiber 2.1 g, Protein 32.8 g, SaturatedFat 7.7 g, Sodium 635.3 mg, Sugar 3.8 g
VERACRUZ-STYLE RED SNAPPER
I like red snapper for this, but any white, flaky fish will work. By the way, many Veracruz-style fish recipes call for pickled jalapenos, but I think there's plenty of acidity in this from the lime and tomatoes, so I like the fresh pepper a little more.
Provided by Chef John
Categories World Cuisine Recipes Latin American Mexican
Time 40m
Yield 2
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion; cook and stir until onions begin to turn translucent, 6 to 7 minutes.
- Cook and stir in garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add capers and caper juice; stir to combine.
- Stir in tomatoes, olives, jalapeno pepper, . Cook and stir until jalapeno pepper softens and tomatoes begin to collapse, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in oregano.
- Drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil into a small baking dish. Sprinkle in 1 tablespoon of the tomato-olive mixture. Top with 1 snapper fillet, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Top with more filling and juice from 1 lime. Repeat with remaining snapper fillet, seasoning, and lime juice in a second baking dish.
- Bake in the preheated oven until fish is flaky and no longer translucent, 15 to 20 minutes.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 452.3 calories, Carbohydrate 16.2 g, Cholesterol 72.6 mg, Fat 25.2 g, Fiber 4.1 g, Protein 43.1 g, SaturatedFat 3.6 g, Sodium 1033.5 mg, Sugar 2.7 g
FISH VERA CRUZ
Steps:
- In a medium saucepan, boil the tomatoes, jalapenos, oregano, and garlic salt for about 8 minutes, or until tomatoes have cooked down to a liquid. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. *Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Return sauce to pan, add chopped onion and cilantro, and stir well. Heat through and keep warm until ready to serve.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat (you can use as little as 2 tablespoons oil to up to 1/2-inch deep). Season fish with salt and pepper and then carefully place in the pan; this may require adding the fish in 2 batches if your skillet is not large enough to hold all 4 fillets. Saute or pan-fry the fish until cooked on 1 side (fish will be opaque on that side). Carefully flip fish and continue cooking until cooked on second side and cooked through in the middle; the fish should be opaque in the middle. Cooking time will vary based on thickness of the fish fillets and the type of fish, but it should not take more than 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Transfer fish onto a serving platter or each of 4 dinner plates and top with the sauce. Serve immediately.
VERACRUZ-STYLE SAUCE
This sauce is an accompaniment to chef Zarela Martinez's Red Snapper Veracruz-style recipe.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Cuisine-Inspired Recipes Mexican-Inspired Recipes
Yield Makes 6 to 7 cups
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- In a medium stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add whole garlic cloves, and cook, stirring, until golden on all sides. Remove garlic and discard. Add minced garlic and the onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced, about 15 minutes.
- Add olives, chiles, capers, bay leaves, parsley, thyme, marjoram, oregano, salt, canela, and wine. Cook until the sauce has thickened to desired consistency, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and adjust for seasoning. If using fresh whole herbs, remove and discard before serving.
VERACRUZ-STYLE TILAPIA ("PESCADO A LA VERACRUZANA")
Provided by Marcela Valladolid
Time 30m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the fish fillets on both sides with salt and black pepper, to taste. Saute the fillets until they are opaque and just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the fish to a glass baking dish where they fit snugly.
- In the same saute pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, Anaheim chile, bay leaf and oregano and bring the pan to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and let the sauce simmer until the chiles soften, about 6 minutes. Uncover the pan, add the olives and capers, and cook until the flavors combine, about 4 minutes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Pour the sauce over the fish in the baking dish. Bake until the fish is heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven, discard the bay leaf and serve.
VERACRUZ SAUCE (FOR FISH OR CHICKEN)
Steps:
- Gather the ingredients.
- Warm oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute garlic briefly to release its flavor.
- Add tomatoes and onions and cook over low heat until tomatoes soften, about 20 minutes.
- Add jalapeño, olives, oregano, capers, water, and salt, to taste. Simmer for an additional 20 minutes.
- Serve Veracruz Sauce over grilled or pan-fried white fish or chicken breast. Accompany this with white rice , if you like.
- Use one whole red snapper of about 3 pounds or two pounds of snapper filets. If using the whole snapper, clean it and remove the scales, but leave the head and tail on for presentation.
- Prick the fish with a fork on both sides.
- Lay the fish (or the filets) in a single layer in a shallow baking dish. Whisk together 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice, a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, and 2 cloves (diced) of garlic. Pour this marinade over the snapper and refrigerate for about an hour.
- Make Veracruz Sauce (above), but reduce garlic to only 2 or 3 cloves. Simmer sauce for only about 5 minutes after adding jalapeños and other ingredients, as it will finish cooking in the oven.
- Cover the fish with the sauce and bake in a 300 F (150 C) oven for about 30 minutes, turning once.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 171 kcal, Carbohydrate 11 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Fiber 4 g, Protein 2 g, SaturatedFat 2 g, Sodium 407 mg, Sugar 4 g, Fat 15 g, ServingSize 2 Cups (3 to 4 Servings), UnsaturatedFat 0 g
SHRIMP VERACRUZ-STYLE (CAMARONES A LA VERACRUZANA)
Posted for the Zaar World Tour 2006-Mexico. From the "Mexican Cookery" cookbook. I haven't tried this recipe, but it sounds delicious. When making this dish, be sure that you don't cook the shrimp too long or leave it standing in the hot sauce, as it will become tough.
Provided by Bayhill
Categories Peppers
Time 1h10m
Yield 4 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Cut bell pepper into 1-1/2"x1/2" strips. Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and green pepper strips. Cook until onion is tender but not browned. Add tomatoes, whole olives, capers, bay leaf, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat.
- Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Taste sauce and add more salt if needed. Heat 2 Tablespoons oil in another large skillet. Add shrimp.
- Cook over medium heat until shrimp turns pink, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle a few drops of lime juice over shrimp. Add sauce. Cook and stir 3 to 4 minutes longer. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 208.9, Fat 11.7, SaturatedFat 1.5, Cholesterol 143.2, Sodium 973.3, Carbohydrate 9.6, Fiber 2.4, Sugar 5.2, Protein 17.1
Tips:
- Use fresh ingredients: Fresh tomatoes, onions, and garlic will give your sauce the best flavor. If you can, try to use organic ingredients.
- Roast your tomatoes and peppers: Roasting the tomatoes and peppers will bring out their natural sweetness and flavor. You can roast them in the oven or on a grill.
- Don't overcrowd the pan: When you're cooking the sauce, don't overcrowd the pan. This will prevent the sauce from cooking evenly.
- Simmer the sauce for at least 30 minutes: Simmering the sauce for at least 30 minutes will allow the flavors to meld and develop.
- Taste the sauce as you go: Season the sauce to taste with salt, pepper, and other spices. You may also want to add a bit of sugar to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes.
Conclusion:
Veracruz-style sauce is a delicious and versatile sauce that can be used on a variety of dishes. It's perfect for tacos, enchiladas, burritos, and even eggs. With its fresh, tangy flavor, Veracruz-style sauce is sure to become a favorite in your kitchen.
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