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Baked Fish With Olive And Pimiento Sauce
(Pescado Yucateco)
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| What You Need: |
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3 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup coarsely chopped onions
2/3 cup pimiento-stuffed olives, quartered lengthwise
½ cup coarsely chopped sweet fresh red pepper or canned pimiento
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
1 teaspoon annatto (achiote) seeds, pulverized with a mortar and pestle
½ cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon soft butter
A 4- to 5-pound red snapper, cleaned but with head and tail on, or any firm white whole fish
2 finely chopped hard-cooked eggs, or 2 cups shredded lettuce combined with 3 or 4 sliced radishes
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| How To Cook: |
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1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a heavy 8- to 10-inch skillet, heat the olive oil until a light haze forms above it. Add the onions and cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft and transparent but not brown.
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2. Stir in the olives, fresh red pepper or pimiento, fresh coriander and ground annatto seeds, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes longer. Then add the orange juice, lemon juice, salt and a few grindings of black pepper.
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3. With a tablespoon of soft butter, grease the bottom and sides of a shallow heatproof casserole large enough to hold the fish comfortably. Place the fish in the casserole and pour the sauce over it.
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4. Bake, uncovered, in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes, basting the fish with its sauce every 10 minutes. The fish is done if its flesh feels firm when pressed with a finger. Be careful not to overcook.
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5. Serve the baked fish directly from the casserole, sprinkled with the chopped egg, or-with one or two spatulas-transfer the fish carefully to a large heated platter, pour the sauce over and around it and garnish with the chopped egg or with the shredded lettuce and radishes.
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