Fish Fillets in a Bath of Garlic Recipe

PrintPrintEmailEmail
Login or register to leave a comment.
No votes yet

Garlic sauce, known as mojo de ajo, is a favorite topping for Mexican seafood. This version adds a touch of ancho chili. Make the sauce quickly while the fish finishes cooking, and take care not to brown the garlic or chilies. Serve with red or white rice.

Yield: Serves 6

  • 6 halibut or sea bass fillets, 6 ounces each
  • Salt to taste, plus 1 teaspoon
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste, plus 1/2 teaspoon
  • 8 tablespoons olive oil
  • 20 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 dried ancho chili pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
  • 2/3 cup fish stock or bottled clam juice
  • Juice of 3 limes
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sprinkle fish fillets with salt and pepper. Place a large cast-iron or other heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the fish fillets and sear, turning once, until lightly golden on both sides, 1-2 minutes per side. Transfer the fillets to an ovenproof platter or shallow baking dish and place in the oven to finish cooking until opaque throughout, 3-5 minutes depending upon thickness of fillets.

Meanwhile, add the remaining 5 tablespoons olive oil to the same pan and place over medium-low heat. Add garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Saute for 1-2 minutes. Add the ancho chili and continue to saute until fragrant, 1-2 minutes longer. Add the fish stock or clam juice and any juices that have collected in the platter or dish holding the fish fillets and raise the heat to medium-high. Boil until reduced by half, 1-2 minutes. Add the lime juice and parsley and bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

Pour the sauce over the fish fillets on the platter. Or, if using a baking dish, transfer the fillets to a warmed platter and pour the sauce over the top. Serve immediately.

Comments

Post new comment

  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <img>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Links to specified hosts will have a rel="nofollow" added to them.

More information about formatting options