White fish baked in a bright tomato, olive, and caper sauce, finished with toasted sesame seeds for extra crunch.
Pescado a la veracruzana is one of Mexico's most recognized coastal dishes, hailing from the port city of Veracruz, where Spanish and Caribbean culinary influences meet: fish baked in a sauce of tomatoes, green olives, capers, and pickled jalapeños, reflecting the city's centuries of trade history. This version adds a scattering of toasted sesame seeds over the finished dish, a modern textural touch not traditional to the original but a natural complement to the sauce's briny, tangy character. The technique is about building the sauce properly before the fish goes in: onions and garlic sauté until soft, tomatoes cook down until they lose their raw edge, and olives and capers are stirred in near the end so they don't turn the whole sauce overly salty. The fish then bakes directly in that sauce, absorbing its flavor as it gently cooks through. Served with white rice to soak up the sauce, this dish showcases how Veracruz's coastal cuisine differs from the chile-heavy cooking of central Mexico -- briny, herbal, and Mediterranean-influenced rather than fiery.
Serves 4
Heat olive oil in an oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Cook onion 6-7 minutes until soft, then add garlic and cook 1 minute.
Add tomatoes, bay leaf, and oregano. Simmer 12-15 minutes until the tomatoes break down and the sauce thickens.
Stir in olives, capers, pickled jalapeños, and salt. Simmer 3 more minutes.
Preheat oven to 190C/375F. Nestle fish fillets into the sauce, spooning some sauce over the top.
Bake uncovered 12-15 minutes until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
Remove the bay leaf. Scatter toasted sesame seeds and cilantro over the top, and serve hot with white rice.
Cook the tomato sauce down until it's noticeably thickened before adding the fish, so the fillets don't sit in a watery sauce.
Add olives and capers near the end of cooking so their brininess doesn't overpower the whole sauce.
Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan for a minute or two until golden before scattering over the finished dish -- raw seeds taste flat by comparison.
Add sliced potatoes to the sauce for a heartier, one-pan meal.
Use shrimp instead of fish fillets, reducing the baking time to 6-8 minutes.
Add a splash of white wine to the sauce for extra depth, common in restaurant versions.
Refrigerate fish and sauce together up to 2 days. Reheat gently in a low oven or on the stovetop over low heat to avoid overcooking the fish further.
Pescado a la veracruzana reflects Veracruz's history as Mexico's main colonial-era port, where Spanish ingredients like olives and capers blended with local tomatoes and chiles, creating one of the country's most distinctly Mediterranean-influenced regional dishes.
Yes, thaw completely and pat dry before adding to the sauce so excess water doesn't dilute the tomato base.
The dish will still work without them, though capers add a distinct briny punch -- extra chopped green olives can partially make up for their absence.
It's mild to moderately spicy depending on how many pickled jalapeños you use -- reduce or omit them for a milder, more Mediterranean-leaning flavor.
Per serving (320g / 11.3 oz) · 4 servings total
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