Sweet Samba Escovitch Fish
serves 4
Recipe By: Smilin’ Island Foods
A fresh spin on a traditional Jamaican dish that uses Cedella Marley Booker’s ‘Sweet Samba Sauce,’ a mango pineapple pepper sauce, in the escovitch for a sweet and slightly spicy pickled topping for the seared white fish.
INGREDIENTS
- 2-4 fillets of snapper or white fish of choice
- ½ cup Sweet Samba Pepper sauce
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 green pepper, julienned
- 1 red pepper, julienned
- 1-2 carrots, julienned
- 1 whole onion, sliced into rounds
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tsp allspice berries, lightly smashed
- 2 large sprigs of thyme
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- Olive oil
- 1 lime
- Seafood seasoning
- Salt
- Pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
Escovitch Preparation:
- Squeeze the juice of the lime over the clean fish and sprinkle with your favorite seafood seasoning. Set aside to marinate.
- In a large skillet, add about 1-2 tablespoons of oil and set on medium heat.
- Add the onion, garlic, and allspice to the oil. After a minute, add the peppers and carrots.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper over the top and stir for a minute.
- Add the thyme, ½ cup of vinegar, ½ cup of Sweet Samba Pepper sauce, and brown sugar. Feel free to adjust the amount of vinegar and pepper sauce to your preference, keeping the same proportion.
- Allow to simmer for a few minutes until vegetables are tender but still crunchy.
- Stir and remove from heat. Try not to overcook the vegetables; they should be tender but still crunchy.
Cook Seared Fish:
- In a large skillet, add oil (about 4 tablespoons) to the bottom of the pan on medium-high heat.
- Once hot, add the fish and cook on both sides for about 4 minutes each or until the fish is cooked through.
- Pour off excess oil if present.
- Add the Sweet Samba Escovitch mixture over the fish and turn off the heat. Serve and Enjoy!