Shrimp-Stuffed Red Snapper With Veracruz Sauce

It’s common knowledge that seafood is the most impressive thing you could cook, right :)?I read somewhere that most home cooks are somewhat intimidated to cook fish at home and only order it at restaurants. Guess what? Fish is one of the easiest and one of the fastest meals you can make. Isn’t that reason enough to make it more often and master the art of seafood?

Elevate a simple fish fillet dinner into something fantastic and exceptional by serving it stuffed and with a sauce that packs a punch of flavor. This dinner has so many different dimensions but is very well balanced. It looks so elegant and magnificent, but when you take a bite, you’ll feel a hug of homeyness. I chose many flavors and ingredients that complement seafood so well. There are so many veggies jam-packed into this meal, you know that’s one of the main reasons why I love it so much. I am a sucker for veggies and seafood both, so it was a no-brainer to combine the too as often as possible. I could eat seafood and vegetables all week and not get tired of them. Ingredients:

4 red snapper fillets

1 1/2 Tablespoons oil

salt, pepper

Shrimp Stuffing:

3/4 – 1 lb raw shrimp, shelled, deveined and coarsely chopped

2 Tablespoons butter

1 leek, sliced

2 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tablespoon capers, minced

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 Tablespoon parsley, minced

1 cup panko bread crumbs, divided

salt, pepper

Veracruz Sauce:

1/2 – 1 Tablespoon oil

1 onion, chopped

1 leek, sliced

1 celery stalk, sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 red bell pepper

1 jalapeno or pablano pepper, minced

2 small cans (14.5 oz each) of diced tomatoes

2 Tablespoons capers

1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, minced

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven so it becomes hot as well. I filleted 2 large red snappers. They were each approximately 2.5 lbs each. If you’d like to fillet the fish yourself, here’s a tutorial on how to fillet a whole fish.

Make 3 diagonal slashes in the skin of the fish. (This will prevent them from curling up when roasting in the oven.) Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper and rub them on both sides with oil. Prep all the ingredients for the stuffing. Melt the butter in a skillet on medium – high heat. Add the leeks, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 8 minutes, until all the vegetables have softened. Add the shrimp and the capers. Cook until the shrimp has cooked through; you’ll know it’s cooked when it becomes pink. Pour in the white wine. Add 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs and mix to combine. When the oven has preheated for about 10 minutes, take out the baking sheet (Don’t forget that it’s HOT) and place the fish fillets skin side down on the hot baking sheet. You will hear it sizzle right away. Place the fish in the oven and decrease the temperature to 350 degrees. Roast in the oven for about 5-7 minutes. Take the fish out of the oven and mound the stuffing on top of the fish. Roast for another 10 -12 minutes. Meanwhile, toast the remaining breadcrumbs in a dry skillet on medium heat, until they are golden and set aside. In the same skillet that you used to make the stuffing, heat up the oil until it’s shimmering. Add the onion, leek, celery, garlic and peppers. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook for about 7 minutes, until all the vegetables have softened. Add the tomatoes and capers to the skillet. Usually, olives are included in a Veracruz tomato sauce, but since we don’t like them, I didn’t add them. If you do like olives, add them in too. Bring to a boil and cook for 3-5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Place approximately half of the sauce in a blender and pureed.

Mix with the remaining sauce. This will create a “saucy” texture” but still have a great, rustic chunkiness. Add the fresh parsley to the sauce.

Serve the stuffed fish on top of the sauce and sprinkle the toasted breadcrumbs on top of the stuffing. The toasted breadcrumbs give the dish some crunchiness and complements the whole dish really well.