Maya Citrus Salsa With Red Snapper

By Mark Bittman

Maya Citrus Salsa With Red Snapper
Evan Sung for The New York Times
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
5(546)
Comments
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Xec (pronounced “shek”) is a sweet, sour, juicy citrus salsa from Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, and it makes a brilliant match with almost any kind of fish, cooked almost any kind of way. The combination here — orange, grapefruit, lemon — is not traditional to Mayan cooking, nor is it a mandate. Add lime if you have it, a bitter orange if you can find it. Don’t skip the minced habanero, though, which adds a bit of heat and yet more flavor. The fish starts on the stove for a few minutes, and is soon moved to the oven to finish cooking, for a total time of less than 10 minutes.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1orange
  • 1small grapefruit
  • 1large lemon
  • ½cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • ½habanero or other chili, seeded and minced, or to taste
  • Salt to taste
  • 2tablespoons oil
  • 4red snapper fillets, 4 to 6 ounces each, preferably skin on (and scaled)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

244 calories; 9 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 30 grams protein; 604 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut orange in half horizontally and section it as you would a grapefruit; do this over a bowl to capture all its juice. Remove seeds and combine flesh and juice in bowl. Repeat with grapefruit and lemon. Stir in cilantro, habanero and salt.

  2. Step 2

    Put oil in a nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium high heat. A minute later, add fish, skin side down; season top with salt. Cook until skin begins to crisp, 3 or 4 minutes, then transfer to oven. Cook another 3 or 4 minutes, or until a thin-bladed knife meets little resistance when inserted into thickest part of fish. Serve fish with xec, immediately.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
546 user ratings
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Comments

Cory

The trick in using a cast iron pan is get the pan to temp first, then add an adequate amount of oil. The oil should heat in 1-30 seconds. When you add the fish or any meat, given it a little jiggle on the pan as soon as you lay it down. That allows the flesh surface to seal before the proteins react with the hot pan surface.

Lou McClelland

Excellent with a fraction of the chili called for. And a sliced avocado atop the fish.

Sheila

This is an excellent quick and delicious meal for a hot summer evening. I prepared it with different citrus, using what I had on hand...Orange and lime. A Jalapeño was not very hot, and it would have benefited from a hotter chili. Served over basmati rice with a bed of bibb lettuce. Low calorie and flavorful.

susie lee

My snapper filets must have been fat—I needed way more cook time—5 minutes sear time and 8 minutes in the oven. I couldn’t get the skin crispy though. I have carbon steel pan which is well seasoned but the skin turned mushy and sloughed off :(

Jennie Phipps

I made the salsa and served it over the grilled fish. Light and tasty. I used the whole habanero.

Atve

Great recipe - followed previous comments to add avocado, olive oil and mint to salsa. Sauted shallot in pan with fish, sprinkled fish with Aleppo pepper and coriander and just flipped fish in pan for second 3 min rather than switching to oven. All worked out well.

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