Pescado a la veracruzana

Pescado a la veracruzana is a Mexican fish dish in which a whole or filleted fish is cooked in a tomato-based sauce flavoured with olives, capers and chilies.

What it really is

The dish is built on a sauce of tomato, white onion, garlic, green olives, capers and jalapeño or chile cooked in olive oil. The fish, classically a whole red snapper (huachinango), is laid in the sauce and cooked until it is opaque and firm, either baked in the oven or simmered on the stove. Bay leaf, thyme or oregano and sliced potatoes or other vegetables are often added to the pan.

The sauce carries the character of the dish. Its Mediterranean-derived ingredients, olives, capers and olive oil, reflect Spanish influence on the port of Veracruz, while the tomato, chile and fish are local. It is distinct from a plain grilled or fried fish with salsa, because the fish is cooked in the sauce itself and the sauce is served with it, not spooned on afterwards.

How it's served

• Served whole on a platter or as individual fillets, with the tomato and olive sauce spooned over the fish.
• Eaten with warm corn tortillas or white rice to soak up the sauce.
• Often accompanied by fried plantain, boiled potatoes or a simple green salad.
• Traditionally a family or celebration dish, served at lunch or on festive occasions.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the fish and the sauce, for example Red snapper fillet a la veracruzana, in tomato, olive and caper sauce.
• List the main ingredients: tomato, onion, green olives, capers, chile, olive oil.
• Flag FISH as the allergen, and note that the dish is cooked in olive oil.
• State the variant on the menu if it is served whole, as fillet or with rice.